17 nation envoys, including US, to visit Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday

New Delhi : Envoys of different nations, including the US, will be a part of 17-member delegation who will be visiting Jammu and Kashmir region on Thursday. A notable exception would be countries from the European Union.

According to a news report by the NDTV, Europe has said that they do not want to take up a guided tour in Jammu and Kashmir.

Parliamentarians from the European Union had visited Jammu and Kashmir in October; three months after the centre had scrapped provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and splitting the state into two Union Territories.

The countries who will be sending their envoys in the visit are the US, Vietnam, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Guyana, Brazil, Nigeria, Niger, Argentina Philippines, Norway, Morocco, Maldives, Fiji, Togo, Bangladesh and Peru.

According to the known itinerary, they will be first taken to Srinagar and then later to Jammu to meet the Union Territory's Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu and other officials.

"In Srinagar they would be taken to Badami Bagh where army would be briefed about security situation and then they would be meeting some civil society people including kashmir based journalists too," a senior government functionary told NDTV. 

There have been a lot of talks and concerns regarding the ban on internet and some restrictions still prevailing in the valley. The Indian Government has arranged the tour to address those concerns and justify their stand.