Fifteen envoys from different countries will be arriving in Kashmir on Thursday as part of a fact finding mission almost six months after India dispensed with a temporary provision in its constitution that accorded Kashmir special status and integrated it more closely with India.
According to people familiar with the developments, the visit is in response to requests from the envoys to travel to the region.
The person did not give the names of the countries the ambassadors, traveling to Kashmir, represented.
This is the first time New Delhi is inviting official representatives of foreign governments to visit Srinagar since the Indian Parliament revoked the state’s special status on 5-6 August.
The invite is expected to dispel some of the criticism that the government has faced over the communications blackout and detentions in Kashmir from international media and foreign governments and politicians.
The government had placed restrictions on movement of people and communications besides putting many Kashmiri political leaders in preventive detention. In recent weeks, the government has removed some of the restrictions on communications, allowing post-paid mobile services and SMS messaging services. Some of the politicians placed in preventive detention have also been set free.
Envoys of the European Union are expected to travel as a group later, a second person familiar with the matter said.
However news reports said that some EU envoys were not keen on a “guided tour" organised by the Indian government and were negotiating with the foreign ministry to be allowed unfettered access to the people in the region.
