Dubai signs deal to build ‘infrastructure in IIOJK’

Dubai has signed an accord to build infrastructure in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Modi government said on Monday, at a time when the disputed Himalayan region is seeing a resurgence in violence.

No figure for the value of the accord was given.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) by Dubai is the first investment agreement by a foreign government in the disputed region following the withdrawal of IIOJKs autonomy and the division of the Muslim-majority state into two territories directly ruled from New Delhi.

According to the Indian government, the agreement signed with Dubai will result in infrastructure building, including industrial parks, IT towers, multi-purpose towers, logistics centres, a medical college and a speciality hospital.

Also read: UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan, says senior diplomat

“The world has started to recognise the pace [at] which [occupied] Jammu and Kashmir is traversing on the development bandwagon,” Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said in a statement.

The statement said different entities from Dubai had shown keen interest in investment in the occupied valley.

However, investment is fraught with risks in the heavily militarised region as evidenced by a spate of rebel attacks and a widespread crackdown by security forces that has left several people dead.

On Monday, Indian authorities moved thousands of migrant workers in IIOJK to safer locations overnight while hundreds have fled the disputed Himalayan territory after a wave of targeted killings.