On the issue of terrorism, an EU MP called it an 'international issue'.
The delegation of members of the European parliament who had visited Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to take stock of the ground situation on Wednesday commented on the terror threat in India, stating that the majority of terrorists killed in J&K were from Pakistan. They also added that abrogation of Article 370 was an internal decision of India and they "fully support India in its efforts for lasting peace and end of terror."
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, four delegates - Henri Malosse and Thierry Mariani from France, Ryszard Czarnecki from Poland and Bill Newton Dunn from the United Kingdom, called terrorism a global problem, adding that the European Union (EU) is concerned about this matter.
On the issue of terrorism, an EU MP called it an 'international issue'. "We support India in fighting terrorism. Terrorism can destroy your country. Terrorism is also a problem of France and Europe. We don't want Kashmir to become another Afghanistan," he said.
Meeting select members of the press in Srinagar, one EU MP said he does not want to see Kashmir turned into Syria.
"Last month I was in Syria and I saw the destruction terrorism can cause. We do not want Kashmir to end up like that," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The parliamentarians added that they did not want to interfere in Indian politics but just had an interest in meeting the local people to take stock of the ground situation here. People of Kashmir want peace and development. They want school and hospitals. We need the support of India to find the best solution," the EU MP said, adding that there is an atmosphere of development in J&K and that people have many expectations from the government.
The MPs also asserted that Article 370 is an internal matter of India and stressing that India is a peace-loving nation. The four MPs, in another dig at Pakistan, said that the country causes trouble to the Christian community residing in the country and also condemned the killing of innocents by terrorists in the past few days.
Nicolaus Fest, one of the visiting MPs urged the government to let opposition politicians from India visit Kashmir to "address the disbalance."
On Wednesday, leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the death of five labours from Murshidabad, who were killed by terrorists in J&K's Kulgam yesterday. The letter stated, "I urge your office further to extend financial support to victims' families from your relief fund." He also urged the Prime Minister to consider sending an all-party delegation to Kashmir to assess the situation there.
On Tuesday, the EU MPs had meetings with army officials and were taken on a shikara ride on the Dal Lake under heavy security. On the day of their visit, terrorists struck civilians in Kulgam district and killed 5 labourers from West Bengal. This is the fifth such attack by terrorists on non-Kashmiri civilians in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.
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 "\"We don't want Kashmir to become another Afghanistan,\" an EU MP said")
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