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A woman on a deserted street in Anchar district, Srinagar, on September 20, 2019, during restrictions following the abolition of the special constitutional status of Kashmir by the Indian government. REUTERS / Danish Siddiqui

Attained Sunday in Delhi, 28 MEPs are visiting Indian Kashmir. This is a first in the region, but the political orientation of this panel raises questions.

With our correspondent in Bangalore, Como Bastin

For the Indian government, this is the first international delegation to enter Kashmir, under military control since the revocation of its autonomy last August. 28 MEPs go on Tuesday in the city of Srinagar where they can exchange with the army. Objective for Narendra Modi: show a return to normal after the repeated criticism of the European Union.

But in this predominantly Muslim region, the political color of this panel is far from neutral. The five French parliamentarians, like Nicolas Bay or Thierry Mariani, come from the National Gathering. Among the other deputies invited, members of the League of Matteo Salvini, the extreme right-wing German party of the AfD or the Brexit party.

The opposition insists that these Europeans should have access to civil society. While Indian MPs have to wait for permission to travel to Kashmir, Congress Party MP Shashi Tharoor calls the visit "an insult to democracy ."

For its part, the European Union recalled that this delegation was not official and that its members were present in India in a private capacity.

► See also: Kashmir: A delegation of the Indian opposition repressed from Srinagar