Foreign diplomats visit Kashmir amid polls, Omar says ‘We don’t need their certificate’

Srinagar: A 15-member foreign delegation made a surprise landing in Kashmir amid second phase of the polling in 26 assembly constituencies of the union territory. The diplomats stated that their purpose is to “observe polling and to see how democracy is working on ground.”

The high-level delegation comprises senior diplomats from USA, Mexico, Guyana, South Korea, Somalia, Panama, Singapore, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Tanzania, Rwanda, Algeria, and Philippines. This is for the first time that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has invited foreign diplomats in the middle of J&K Assembly polls taking place after a decade.

At Chinarbagh polling station of Lal Chowk assembly constituency, a female delegate Alice Chain from Singapore, told a local news agency KNO that they are in Kashmir on the invitation of MEA’s public outreach programme. “This is not my first visit to Kashmir but yes, my first visit to observe elections here. It’s a lot more festive here than the polling in Singapore. The government buildings are being used for easy access to the voters.”

Another female diplomat said that she was in Srinagar for the first time. “Our purpose is to meet and talk to the people of this big diverse country. Elections are important,” she said.

However, National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah lashed out at the government of India’s move to invite foreign delegates saying the polls were an internal matter of India and “we do not need their certificate”.

“I don’t know why foreigners should be asked to check elections here. When foreign governments comment, then the government of India says ‘this is an internal matter for India’ and now suddenly they want foreign observers to come and look at our elections,” Omar was quoted as saying by PTI.

He said the assembly elections in JK “are an internal matter for us”, and “we do not need their certificate”.

“Also, this participation (of people in polls) is not because of the government of India, it is inspite of everything that the government of India did. They have humiliated people, they have used all the machinery of the government to detain and harass people.

“Inspite of that, people are coming and participating in the elections. So, this is not something the government of India should be highlighting. But, anyway, that’s the way they are,” the former chief minister of JK was quoted as saying.

The assembly polls in JK are being conducted after 10 years, and are the first after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.