Meetings with LG, CJ, Admn, people in Jammu today
25 envoys visit Srinagar, meet delegations
Sanjeev Pargal / Fayaz Bukhari
Jammu/Srinagar, Feb 12: Envoys from 25 countries mostly of European Union today arrived in Srinagar for on the spot assessment of ground situation in Kashmir.
The envoys from 25 countries including Germany, France, Canada, Afghanistan, Czech Republic, Cyprus, New Zealand, Mexico, Italy, Austria, Uzbekistan, Azarbaijan, Kenia, Poland and Hungary arrived in Srinagar this morning on a two day visit to the Union Territory.
The delegation was to visit Baramulla where they were scheduled to have interaction with Youth Club, which has been set up by Army in the town. They were scheduled to be taken in a chopper inside the Artillery Brigade in Baramulla town where there was a briefing by Army and interaction with the Youth Club members. However, due to inclement weather, the trip to Baramulla was cancelled.
Instead of going to Baramulla, the envoys were escorted to Lalit hotel in Srinagar where they checked-in in the morning and later in the afternoon they had a Shikara ride in the Dal lake which lasted around an hour.
The envoys will visit Jammu tomorrow before returning to New Delhi. During Day 1 of their two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, number of foreign envoys reacted to the situation prevailing in the Kashmir valley with Dean of Diplomatic Corps in India Ambassador Hans Dannenberg Castellanos saying the trade is taking place and streets were full of peace in Srinagar.
“We’ve come here to see normalization of situation after abrogation of Article 370. We’ve seen commerce happening, streets full of people; normalcy returning, slowly but surely things will get better,” he said.
Uganda High Commissioner in India Dinah Grace Akello said this (Kashmir) is a very important part of India.
“People I’ve been talking to want this region to be developed. I met people from sports, those interested in economic growth and those who want to bring investors here. I see a lot of hope now,” Grace asserted.
Ambassador of Denmark to India Freddy Svane said it’s important to visit Kashmir but you can’t have a dialogue about Kashmiris if you haven’t heard what expectations and wishes they have for the future. “It is important to have a holistic picture”.
German Ambassador Walter Linder said: “We came here and want to talk to people. Any hasty reaction right now wouldn’t be good. So let us talk to people, let us exchange notes, then will speak”.
During the visit to the Valley today, Afghanistan’s envoy to India Tahir Qadiry said he was amazed by the hospitality of the people of Kashmir.
“We Afghans claim that we are Mehman-Navaz (hospitable), but the Kashmiris are definitely so too. Interacted with a bunch of young people here. This girl is a gold-medalist in basketball with very high hopes. Wishing this beautiful Valley and its people lots of good wishes,” Qadiry tweeted and shared pictures of his conversations with locals.
He said it is great to come to Kashmir and though we have been in Srinagar only a couple of hours but can see shops open, children going to schools etc. He added that they met the Civil Society members and they really want peace in Kashmir.
The Afghan envoy also tweeted pictures of the delegation enjoying a Shikara (boat) ride in the Dal lake.
“Upon our arrival, we enjoyed a #Shikara ride on Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir. Beautiful lake and hospitable people. I bought a beautiful Kashmiri ring from a boat serving as a shop,” he said.
Qadiry said in their interaction with the Kashmiri media outlets, the media people seriously urged the Government to restore the internet broadband as it is causing them so much problems to report and broadcast.
“We (foreign envoys) are interacting with the traders, businesswomen & entrepreneurs in Srinagar about the status of business & tourism in J&K on the sideline of our tour to this beautiful valley,” he said in another tweet.
In yet another tweet, the Afghanistan envoy referred to a scene of Dal lake writing: “A Kashmiri woman paddling her boat through Dal lake, Srinagar. Like Venice, lots of shopping points selling local handicrafts and boat resorts in the middle of the lake. Undoubtedly the Valley has a lot of potential for boosting tourism”.
Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Qadiry wrote that this part of the world (aka Paradise on Earth) has always been on his wish-list.
“J&K produces 80 percent of India’s Apple, according to a participant. So much potential for investments. A Kashmiri businessman urges the envoys to encourage their countries to partner with them,” he added.
Though this was the third foreign delegation to visit Jammu and Kashmir post August 5 Central decisions including scrapping of special Constitutional provisions of J&K and bifurcation of the erstwhile State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, this will be the first delegation which will meet Chief Justice of J&K High Court Gita Mittal in Jammu tomorrow.
The meeting is scheduled around 12 noon at the Chief Justice’s office in the High Court complex at Janipura.
Sources said the envoys might like to know the status of detention of three former Chief Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir including Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti and other politicians detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) or other charges since August 5.
The envoys, according to sources, might also like to assess working of the judiciary in Jammu and Kashmir especially the Valley in view of certain restrictions after abolition of Articles 370 and 35A and conversion of J&K into the Union Territory.
The meeting was expected to last around an hour.
While former Chief Minister and Lok Sabha member Dr Farooq Abdullah was booked under the PSA few days after scrapping of special Constitutional provisions of the erstwhile State, Omar and Mehbooba were booked under the Act after completion of their six month detention.
Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu will brief the envoys at a private hotel in Narwal near Jammu City over the luncheon meeting at 1 pm about situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir including the Valley.
Murmu is expected to give detailed briefing to the envoys on security and law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir and steps taken by the Government to restore complete normalcy after August 5.
Sources said top officials of civil and police administration including Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, Principal Secretary Home Department Shaleen Kabra and Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh might also brief the delegation after the Lieutenant Governor.
About 26 to 28 members of different organizations and individuals from the Jammu region are expected to meet the foreign envoys and give their views on prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and decisions taken by the Central Government on August 5.
The foreign envoys will return to New Delhi in the evening after meeting the delegations.
The envoys had a meeting with Industrialists, businessmen, hoteliers and some politicians for about two hours in Srinagar. Sources said that they told the visiting delegation that their main concern is the development of Jammu and Kashmir and they have nothing to do with the political decision that was taken by Government of India last year.
Those who met the envoys include Amit Amla, Tabish Habib, Shaila Sheikh, Mohammad Ashraf, owner of Semtec Industries, Owner of Taj Faizan Pervaiz and its General Manager Vishal Sharma, Surjeet Singh of Peaks Automobiles and Qaisar Mohidin, Shuhul Motors. The politicians include Khalid Jehangir, Hina Bhat of BJP and two former legislators of Congress party – Umsan Majid and Shoaib Lone.
This was followed by meeting with a group of journalists including Chief Editor of Greater Kashmir Fayaz Ahmad Kaloo, Javed Malik of Greater Kashmir, Owner of Rising Kashmir Ayaz Hafiz Gani, Editor of Chattan Tahir Mohidin, Saleem Pandit of Times of India, Editor of Brighter Kashmir Farooq Wani, Editor of Asian Mail Rashid Rahil, Syed Basharat, Aftab Ahmad, Farzana Mumtaz and Samia Qureshi.
This was followed by the meeting with Civil Society groups. Those who met include Touseef Raina, Juniad Mir, Muzaraf Khan, Jagmohan Raina, Tariq Bhat and several others.
In the evening, a cultural progamme was held at Lalit Hotel in which Kashmiri music and dance performance of local artists was highlight of the evening.
In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the group would meet representatives of the civil society, including youths, political leaders, local businessmen during their visit to the union territory.
“As a part of the outreach efforts, visit of a second group of foreign heads of mission is being organised to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on February 12-13,” the MEA said.
It said the group is visiting Baramulla, Srinagar and Jammu and would meet representatives of the civil society, including youth from different ethnic, religious and socio-economic communities, local businessmen and political leaders.
“They will also be briefed about the development programmes being implemented, get assessment of the security situation, and witness for themselves the progressive normalisation of the situation,” the MEA said.
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