Tharoor-led parliamentary panel deliberately ignores ground realities during IIOJK visit
Jammu: In a clear attempt to evade the harsh realities on the ground in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, has stated that the committee’s visit is strictly limited to external issues and has nothing to do with the prevailing situation in the territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to reporters after calling on the India-appointed Lieutenant Governor, Tharoor made it clear that the panel was not in Kashmir to assess local conditions, human rights violations, or the sufferings of the Kashmiri people.
“I want to make it very clear that this is not a visit about checking the conditions in Kashmir Valley,” Tharoor said. He added that the committee is only studying three issues — India-Pakistan relations, China-India relations, and the functioning of passport offices and services.
The statement has drawn sharp criticism from political observers who see it as yet another example of New Delhi’s deliberate policy of ignoring the ground situation in occupied Kashmir while using parliamentary panels to push its external propaganda narrative against Pakistan and China.
Critics argue that by restricting the scope of the visit and avoiding any interaction with the people or assessment of the prevailing repression, the committee is once again turning a blind eye to the serious human rights crisis, militarization, and political disempowerment in IIOJK.
The visit comes at a time when Kashmir continues to face heavy military presence, frequent cordon and search operations, and widespread grievances of the people, which New Delhi consistently refuses to acknowledge.
