Srinagar: Senior American diplomats visited Jammu and Kashmir this week to meet various political leaders in the Union territory, including National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah at his Gupkar residence. The delegation included Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer, First Secretary Gary Applegarth, and Political Counselor Abhiram.
Mayer last visited the Valley in August 2023 and had called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar. As per government sources, the visit is part of a diplomatic outreach to meet all parties and get a chance to assess the situation ahead of polls in the former state.
A post by the National Conference (NC) party on X said that the discussions covered a wide range of issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir and the region in general. NC leader Omar Abdullah emphasized to the diplomats the importance of re-looking at the travel advisories for Jammu and Kashmir to ease restrictions.
"He (Omar) also invited the diplomats to visit Kashmir with their families as a first step to inspire confidence among tourists from the United States and other parts of the world," the post read.
The development comes ahead of crucial assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, which will be the first since the Narendra Modi government scrapped its special status by abrogating Article 370 in August 2019. The former state was then broken into the two Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The visit also comes two weeks after US Consul-General Jennifer Larson visited All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi at his house in Hyderabad.
