EU MPs team in Srinagar amid shutdown, clashes

Amid heightened tension due to clashes and a shutdown, a delegation of Members of European Parliament arrived in Srinagar on Tuesday to see the local conditions. After checking into at a five-star hotel, the MEPs were taken to the Army's 15 Corps headquarters at Badami Bagh where top army commanders briefed them about the situation in Kashmir. It is the first foreign delegation to visit Kashmir after the scrapping of Article 370 on August 5 and European MPs also took a shikhara ride on the iconic Dal lake. The MEPs have come under criticism after it emerged that several of them belonged to right-wing parties in Italy, France and Germany. Their visit, however, triggered violence in many parts of Srinagar, multiple reports said.