News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The visit of a senior IDF officer to the Jaimu and Kashmir provinces of India has triggered a major row in Kashmir, with mainstream and separatist parties calling it a “dangerous liaison” that could send wrong signals among the people of the Muslim-majority state.

IDF deputy chief of staff Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, along with a delegation of IDF officers, arrived on a visit to the provinces last Thursday to discuss various issues with Indian army and government officials. He met with senior officers and held discussions on issues of mutual interest to Israel and India.

But the main opposition party, the National Conference, has cautioned that his visit will hurt the ongoing Muslim-Hindu reconciliation peace process and defeat the basic concept of friendship between India and Pakistan. “The visit of the Israeli army officer is fraught with danger. It sends a wrong signal that the center is not ready to solve the Kashmir issue politically,” said Dr. Mehboob Beg, provincial president of the National Conference.

Beg warned that the India-Pakistan peace process is at a crucial stage and any wrong step will derail the entire process. “On one hand, India and Pakistan are inching towards friendship and on the other, the Israeli military officer is visiting Kashmir. People in the Valley generally abhor Israel because of its oppression against Palestinians,” he said.