Sonia Gandhi to visit Indian Kashmir

MIRPUR: Amidst extra-ordinary security cover, India’s ruling coalition the UPA chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi will visit Indian Kashmir on May 29 to assess the gravity of the situation in the wake of the ongoing struggle for liberation of the state according to a report.

The report adds that Gandhi will attend a function of the Gujjar tribe at Narwal in the Jammu region soon after her arrival from New Delhi on May 29. The numbers of troops deployed in the area have been increased significantly. In the afternoon, she will fly to Srinagar to assess the ongoing political situation.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is likely to call for a wheel-jam strike on May 29 to express their dissociation with India and its leadership on the eve of the visit. Gandhi is expected to return to New Delhi the same evening, it added. The report reveals that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also planning on visiting Indian Kashmir on June 7 and 8 to review the current situation in the state and a complete strike is also likely to be observed on his visit.

Published in the Express Tribune, May 24th, 2010.