Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 27: A three-member delegation of US diplomats today called on Peoples Conference President and former Minister Sajad Lone in Srinagar.
They met former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as well as former Mayor of Srinagar Junaid Mattu on Monday.
The visit of the US delegation led by Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer, along with First Secretary Gary Applegarth and Political Counselor Abhiram Ghadyalpatil comes at a time when J&K is gearing up for the Assembly elections after a gap of 10 years.
This will also be the first Assembly polls after the J&K special status was scrapped and the state was divided into two Union Territories.
A spokesman of Lone’s party said a wide range of issues were discussed during the meeting with the US diplomatic delegation.
“US diplomatic delegation led by Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer, along with First Secretary Gary Applegarth and Political Counselor Abhiram Ghadyalpatil, called on PC President Sajad Gani Lone at his residence Tuesday.
A wide range of issues were discussed during the meeting,” the Spokesperson Adnan Ashraf Mir who also attended the meeting said.
Officials privy to the US delegation meeting political leaders in Kashmir said this is part of a “routine outreach programme” to assess the ground situation in the erstwhile state.
On Monday, after meeting with the US delegation, Omar called for a reassessment of the travel advisories that currently discourage visits to Jammu and Kashmir. The US Government in July warned its citizens to avoid travel to the region.
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