Jammu and Kashmir phase 2 poll: Centre to take foreign diplomat delegation to Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir assembly election: In an effort to showcase the democratic transition in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the central government will take a delegation of foreign diplomats to witness the phase 2 polling process, reported The Indian Express.

A delegation of 16 diplomats will visit Srinagar on Wednesday with a 20-member delegation from the ministry of external affairs (MEA). Representatives from major Western democracies like the United States, the Europea Union and Australia, along with Russia, will be a part of the visiting team.

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According to the report, this is the first time the Union government has invited foreign diplomats to have a first-hand account of polling in the region. The aim is to showcase the “peaceful conduct of the electoral process” and “participation of people at a large scale”, as this phase is considered the “most feasible” to organise such a visit, said an official.

The foreign diplomatic team will visit only travel in the Budgam and Srinagar districts, and likely to skip Jammu.

The assembly election is the first such exercise in J&K in a decade and comes after the abrogation of special status under Article 370 and degradation of statehood into a Union territory. It also comes after a controversial delimitation exercise earmarked 47 assembly seats for Kashmir and 43 for Jammu in its final order.

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Reacting to the visit, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah questioned the need for guided tours when the union government refuses to accept any international criticism of its actions in J&K. "If diplomats can be brought on guided jaunts, why have all foreign journalists – including those with OCI cards – had their requests for permission to cover the elections turned down?,” he asked while speaking to The Indian Express.

PDP spokesperson Waheed Para said the credit for successful conduct of elections should be given to the people and their urge to get a representation in power. “On one hand, the government says we don’t want any interference from outside and no international attention on Kashmir, and on the other, they hold G20 and showcase people’s participation as their own success story," he added.

The BJP welcomed the visit and questioned the need to oppose a visit which aims to show “the festival of democracy being celebrated in a free, fair and transparent manner”. "We are only opposed to outside interference of any kind,” said chief spokesperson of J&K BJP Sunil Sethi.