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This is an archive article published on October 5, 2019

US Senator keen to see Kashmir ‘first hand’, denied nod

Born in Karachi and having gone to school in Kodaikanal while his father served as an American diplomat in Sri Lanka, Van Hollen has been clued into the Indian politics.

US Senator keen to see Kashmir ‘first hand’, denied nod Despite being refused permission to visit Kashmir, Van Hollen he came to India and met officials and key members of civil society in Delhi on Thursday and Friday.

Known for his views on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, a key US Senator from the Democratic Party wanted to visit Kashmir to see the situation “first-hand”, but the Indian government denied him permission to go there.

Chris Van Hollen is the first US Congressman to have been denied the permission by the Indian government after the special status to Jammu and Kashmir was revoked on August 5.

Born in Karachi and having gone to school in Kodaikanal while his father served as an American diplomat in Sri Lanka, Van Hollen has been clued into the Indian politics. Despite being refused permission to visit Kashmir, he came to India and met officials and key members of civil society in Delhi on Thursday and Friday.

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Speaking to The Indian Express on Friday, Van Hollen said, “I wanted to visit Kashmir to see first-hand what was happening, but was not allowed by the Indian government. We had approached the government about a week ago, but were told it was not the right time to go there.”

Van Hollen, who has travelled across India but never been to J&K, said, “I had thought it would be useful to go there and see the situation myself. My personal view is that if you have nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear by allowing visitors to the state.. I can only conclude that the Indian government doesn’t want us to see what’s happening out there.”

While there was no official response from the Indian government on this, government sources said that foreign dignitaries have been advised not to go there keeping in view their safety and security.

“I have a deep affection for India and support stronger Indo-US relations. And, it’s important for the Indian government to address the provisions in the US Senate’s Appropriations committee-adopted Bill which includes language on Kashmir,” said Hollen.

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Van Hollen has served as Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2017 to 2019. As member of the US House of Representatives for Maryland’s 8th Congressional district, he has been vocal about the situation in J&K. His constituency, Maryland, has one of the largest Muslim American populations of any US state, with a significant Pakistani and Indian-American Muslim population.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, he played a key role in including tough language on J&K in the Appropriations Bill, which was unanimously adopted last week. He said the committee “noted with concern the current humanitarian crisis in Kashmir and called on the Indian government to fully restore telecommunications and Internet services; lift its lockdown and curfew; and release individuals detained…”.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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