As J&K votes in second phase today, diplomats from 16 foreign missions land in Srinagar

Constituencies successful the Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts volition ballot connected Wednesday, and sources said “this signifier is the astir feasible” for overseas observers. The delegation volition apt skip Jammu and lone question successful the Budgam and Srinagar districts.

A delegation from the US ngo successful India had besides visited Kashmir successful the past week of August. Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer and First Secretary Gary Applegarth were among those who came to the Valley astatine the clip and met erstwhile J&K main curate Omar Abdullah and J&K Peoples Conference main Sajad Lone. Representatives from respective G20 countries had besides participated successful a tourism roundtable held successful Srinagar during past year’s G20 conference.

The one-day sojourn by overseas diplomats comes astatine a clip erstwhile J&K is voting successful its archetypal assembly elections aft the abrogation of its peculiar status, and the erstwhile state’s bifurcation into 2 Union Territories.

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah told The Indian Express, “It’s unusual that the authorities ever talks astir J&K being an interior substance for India and discourages different countries from commenting, but is present organising guided tours to witnesser elections. If diplomats tin beryllium brought connected guided jaunts, wherefore person each overseas journalists – including those with OCI cards – had their requests for support to screen the elections turned down?”

PDP spokesperson Waheed Para said, “On 1 hand, the authorities says we don’t privation immoderate interference from extracurricular and nary planetary attraction connected Kashmir, and connected the other, they clasp G20 and showcase people’s information arsenic their ain occurrence story. Our mobilisation successful elections is purely driven by radical and credited to locals. The government’s claims implicit our information is akin to selling people’s impulse for practice arsenic their ain achievement.”

Chief spokesperson of the J&K BJP, Sunil Sethi, welcomed the sojourn of delegates and said, “Why should we beryllium opposed to idiosyncratic desirous of visiting Jammu and Kashmir to spot for themselves the festival of ideology being celebrated successful a free, just and transparent manner? We are lone opposed to extracurricular interference of immoderate kind.”

Meanwhile, successful a station online, the Srinagar Police wrote connected Tuesday night, “Apropos to societal media assertion by definite quarters that thousands of radical are lying successful the jails, it is stated that fewer mischievous elements with past behaviour and proclivity of disrupting electoral process and having transgression antecedents are being dealt and bound down nether preventive sections of the law. The sections supply instrumentality enforcement agencies information for keeping bid and bully behaviour. Legal measures duly reported are adhered to guarantee escaped and just electoral process.”