Norwegian ex-PM’s Valley visit was personal, clarifies Sushma

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 28

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in a written statement in the Rajya Sabha on Friday said that “there is no scope for any third party role or mediation in Kashmir”. Sushma was responding to a question regarding the recent visit of former Prime Minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik to Kashmir where he also met with separatists.

Bondevik, who heads the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights, in a surprise visit to the Valley on November 23 met with Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of the joint resistance leadership that led to a political storm after media reports surfaced.

Stating that Bondevik was on a private visit, Sushma in her response informed that he was on a visit to India at the invitation of the Art of Living International Centre in Bengaluru. “The Government of India was not involved in organising the visit and meetings. It has also been reported that he visited Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from November 24-27, 2018,” read the written reply.

After a brief stopover in New Delhi on his way back, Bondevik had met with Sardar Masood Khan, president of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and was received by top Pakistani leaders, including Foreign Minister SM Qureshi. Political leaders in Kashmir had raised eyebrows asking if the Modi government had sought any mediation from Bondevik or Norway against its principled position. Questions had emerged about the clearance for the visit to the sensitive Valley. Foreign envoys posted in New Delhi travel to Kashmir based on prior clearances and for many years now have avoided meeting with separatists.

“There is no change in the government’s consistent and principled position that under the Simla Agreement (1972) and as reiterated in the Lahore Declaration (1999), both India and Pakistan are committed to addressing all outstanding issues bilaterally. There is no scope for any third party role or mediation,” added Sushma in her written statement.

Earlier Norwegian Ambassador Nils Ragnar Kamsvag speaking to The Tribune had clarified that Norway was not mediating in the Kashmir conflict and its government had no official role to play.

The Rajya Sabha was informed...

In a written statement in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said: “The Government of India was not involved in organising the visit and meetings. It has also been reported that former Prime Minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik visited Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied J&K from November 24-27, 2018.”