A delegation of senior diplomats from countries including the US, Norway, Singapore and South Korea is visiting Kashmir on Wednesday to witness the ongoing assembly elections. This marks the first time that foreign diplomats have been invited by the Indian government to observe elections in the Union Territory. The government’s intent behind this is to showcase the “peaceful conduct of the electoral process” and the “large-scale participation” of the people in the polls, according to sources.
The 20-member delegation includes representatives from the US, Mexico, Somalia, Nigeria, South Africa, and several other nations, as well as four officials from India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Most of these countries are represented by their Charge d’Affaires and Deputy Chiefs of Missions. The diplomats will visit constituencies in the Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts, which are voting in this phase of the elections. Jammu is not part of their itinerary, sources said.
This diplomatic visit comes as Jammu & Kashmir holds its first assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, which stripped the region of its special status and split it into two Union Territories. The central government aims to use this visit to emphasize the normalcy and stability restored in the region.
The visit follows an earlier diplomatic outreach when a US delegation, led by Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer, visited Kashmir in August and met with key local leaders, including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and J&K Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone. Last year, representatives from G20 countries attended a tourism roundtable in Srinagar during the G20 summit.
However, the visit has not been without controversy. National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah questioned the government’s decision, pointing out the contradiction between claiming Jammu & Kashmir as an internal matter and allowing foreign diplomats to witness the elections while denying foreign journalists the same access.
Elections in Jammu and Kashmir are being held in three phases. Voting for 24 seats in the first phase was held on September 18 while polling for 26 seats in the second phase is underway on Wednesday. The voting for 40 seats in third phase will be held on October 1 while counting of votes will be held on October 8.
