Foreign envoys meet Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha

14:54 February 18

Foreign envoys meet the civil administration in Jammu

Foreign envoys meet the civil administration in Jammu

Foreign envoys who are on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir met the civil administration in Jammu

14:12 February 18

Foreign envoys meet Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha

Foreign envoys meet Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha

A high-level delegation of diplomats from 24 countries reached the winter capital Jammu where they met Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan.

Before meeting the Lieutenant Governor, the members of the delegation called on Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Pankaj Mithal.

Sources said that before leaving for Delhi on Thursday evening, the delegation would meet DDC chairpersons, panchayat representatives, as well as senior officials of the administration.

13:00 February 18

Foreign envoys meet Chief Justice of J&K

12:55 February 18

Foreign envoys meet Chief Justice of J&K

The delegation of foreign envoys, visiting the union territory, meets the Chief Justice of J&K High Court, Pankaj Mittal in Jammu.

12:51 February 18

Delegation of foreign envoys visits Jammu 

12:29 February 18

Shops remain shut in Srinagar

Srinagar: Normal life was affected on the second consecutive day in Srinagar as shutdown was observed on Thursday in connection with foreign envoys visit. 

Shops in areas around Lal Chowk and other big markets remained shut while only a few vehicles could be seen plying on the roads.

Even though there was no call of hartal from any group, social media was abuzz with reports of a shutdown in wake of foreign delegation's visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier today, a group of foreign diplomats arrived in Kashmir to assess the ground situation and the development work in the Union Territory.

12:09 February 18

J-K police, Army brief foreign envoys  

The foreign envoys' delegation was briefed by Indian Army and J&K Police in Srinagar today.

SSP Anantnag Sandeep Chaudhary briefed the delegation on community engagements, counter-radicalisation, Police initiatives in sports, employment opportunities, counselling, community bond schemes for potential terrorist recruits.

SP East Srinagar, Sheema Nabi Qasba who hails from Kashmir, briefed on how Police dealt with challenges posed by COVID19 pandemic, maintaining a balance between addressing people’s problems and enforcing COVID restrictions.

"The army briefing focused on infiltration pattern, Pakistan's role, atrocities of Baramulla in 1948, tunnels, use of drones, number of Pakistani terrorists killed: which are 54 per cent in the decade. The decrease in infiltration and recent terror incidents. Pakistan's role in recruiting through Information Warfare (IW), social media use in the Indian Army and role in making terrorists surrender," said the sources.

"The briefing also discussed the issues like 72 surrenders in 2020, infiltration from Line of Control (LOC) and support of Pakistan Army in helping infiltration, harbouring terrorists, training camps, seized weapons supplied by Pakistan, killing of moderate Kashmir voices by terrorists" the sources added.

08:34 February 18

Foreign envoys meet Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, Jammu civil administration

Jammu:A group of 24 foreign envoys, who are on a two-day visit to the Union Territory, will visit Jammu on the second day of their tour on Thursday.

The Delegation of diplomats from foreign missions, including the European Union will be briefed by Army and Police in Srinagar today, after which the group of envoys will call on the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, in Jammu.

They will also attend a lunch hosted by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The diplomats are also scheduled to meet civil society representatives today.

On the first day of their visit to the Union Territory, the 24-member delegation of foreign diplomats had interacted with representatives of civil society and the government in Srinagar.

There was a consensus among foreign envoys of 24 countries who are on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir that there were free and fair elections in the Union Territory, which is the biggest attestation to the empowerment of democracy, said Srinagar Municipal Corporation Mayor Junaid Mattu.

READ:Foreign delegation arrives in Jammu and Kashmir

"The visiting dignitaries were apprised of the landmark elections of DDC and urban local bodies. They wanted to know the ground realities. Elected representatives from all political opinions and parties participated. The key issue discussed was the decentralisation of power and planning and empowerment of the grassroots representatives," he said.

Foreign diplomats from Chile, Brazil, Cuba, Bolivia, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Bangladesh, Malawi, Eritrea, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Malaysia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and the European Union are on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

The latest visit of foreign envoys comes in the backdrop of District Development Council polls, which saw huge participation and restoration of 4G mobile internet in the entire region after 18 months, which many see as a return of full normalcy in the Union Territory.

This is the first visit by foreign diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two batches of foreign diplomats had earlier visited Jammu and Kashmir in January and February last year after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.