In a counter to Pakistan's consistent campaign in foreign capitals against India's move on Article 370, the Government has decided to send a fresh batch of foreign envoys to visit Jammu & Kashmir this week to facilitate them in getting a first-hand account of the ground situation in the erstwhile State which lost its special status on August 5 last year.
The fresh batch of foreign envoys will visit Jammu & Kashmir later this week and those who will be part of the delegation include envoys from European Union and the Gulf countries, official sources said without any further elaboration on the specific date of the visit or the composition of the visiting team.
The first batch of 15 envoys, including the US Ambassador to India, Kenneth I Justerhad, had visited Jammu and Kashmir last month on a two-day visit. .
The first batch of the envoys included those from the US, Latin America and Africa. But diplomats from Australia and several Gulf nations as also the European Union could not make the cut but were desirous of visiting the Valley at a later date.
Parliamentarians from the European Union had visited Jammu and Kashmir in October in order to assess the ground situation. The Parliamentarians, on a private visit, were briefed by the security forces on the situation there.
The Parliament had on August 5 abrogated the special status to J&K under Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir into union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Following India's move, Pakistan had launched a vitiated campaign against the move across major capitals as the repeal of the special provision paved the way for full integration of the terror-hit territory with the Indian Union.
In the wake of continued propaganda and the telecom restrictions, a number of countries had voiced concern over Internet shutdown and detention of political leaders. However, Pakistan could not get much traction despite a pitched campaign against India due to lack of
credibility in Islamabad's arguments.
Pakistan's role in terror funding and human rights abuse has been under the gaze of various multi-lateral bodies.