 "'The turnaround has happened': MEA confirms first batch of Indian troops in Maldives replaced")
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that the turnaround of the first team of personnel who were operating the ALH helicopter has been completed.
Addressing a weekly briefing on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “So, the first batch that had to be replaced has been completed. The turnaround has happened.”
On March 12, a report by Maldives-based Mihaaru newspaper had claimed that 25 Indian troops stationed in the southernmost atoll of Addu departed from the archipelago before 10 March, adhering to the agreed-upon commencement of the withdrawal process by both parties.
President Mohamed Muizzu came to power in September last year, vowing to remove Indian security personnel stationed in the Maldives to monitor its extensive maritime boundary.
After discussions with New Delhi, both parties reached an agreement to fully withdraw 89 Indian troops and their supporting personnel from the archipelago of 1,192 small coral islands by 10 May.
According the newspaper, three Indian aircraft - two helicopters and one fixed-wing plane - will be operated by Indian civilian staff, who have already arrived.
There was no official confirmation from either the Maldivian or Indian authorities, but the newspaper said the Maldivian National Defence Force confirmed the Indian withdrawal had begun, the report had said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe external affairs ministry earlier informed that both India and the Maldives have agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of the Maldives.
Last month, the MEA said that the first batch of Indian technical personnel reached Maldives to replace the defence personnel.
India and the Maldives have held two high-level core group meetings and the third one is expected to take place soon.
Recently, reacting to Opposition’s charge that Indian troops who left the island nation had returned in civilian clothing, Muizzu had said that “no Indian military personnel” will remain in the country after May 10, “be it in uniform or civilian clothing.”
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar affirmed his belief that the row with the Maldives will be resolved through diplomacy.
He highlighted that Indian military personnel and aviation platforms in the Maldives have been solely working for the benefit of local people and said that sometimes misunderstandings take place between two nations.
“Humanity is humanity. Diplomacy is diplomacy, and politics is politics. The whole world doesn’t always run with obligation…so if we have encountered such a situation, the solution will come through diplomacy only,” Jaishankar said at an event.
“We have to make people understand, sometimes people don’t even have complete knowledge of things, sometimes people get misguided on what others say,” he said.
With inputs from agencies
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