MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2019) India allowed a group of 27 lawmakers from European countries to visit the conflict-hit Jammu and Kashmir region, national media reported.
The lawmakers from Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland will be members of the first foreign delegation that will have an opportunity to assess the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir since the eruption of tensions in the area in August, the Times of India newspaper reported on late Monday, citing its sources.
According to the newspaper, most lawmakers are representatives of right-wing parties, which are more sympathetic to the Indian position on Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have fought for control over the Kashmir region � the southern part of which lies in India � since the end of British rule in 1947. Tensions in the region spiked in February after Islamists staged a deadly terror attack on the Indian security forces.
The situation worsened in August when India revoked the special status of the Jammu and Kashmir state and divided it into two federally controlled union territories. Pakistan expressed concern over this and promised to protect Kashmiris. Islamabad then expelled the Indian ambassador, halted bilateral trade and promised to raise the issue with the International Court of Justice.�
