Indian troop figures vary; could be over 89, says president
A technical committee comprising the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Indian High Commission is working very fast, he said.
By
Ahmed Naif
The number of Indian troops in Maldives is still not entirely clear and documents so far have identified between 77 and 89, President Muizzu said on Tuesday.
There are 77 Indian army officers in Maldives, the President's Office's Public Policy Undersecretary Mohammed Firzul told a press conference on 19th last month. Since then:
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At a press conference held at the airport after the President’s visit to Turkey on Sunday, a journalist asked him why there was a huge gap between the number of Indian troops he had claimed during his campaign and the actual number
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To the question, he said the number of Indian troops disclosed by the President's Office needs to be clarified further
At a press conference held at the President's Office after Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Atoll Times asked the President why he said the number of Indian troops disclosed earlier by the President's Office should be looked into further and what the actual number is.
In response to the question, the President said that the number of Indian troops is still not clear and the documents received from the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry show different figures at different times.
"[The number of Indian troops] is going from 77 to 89. That's not clear either. It could be more. So we don't think we have all the information yet," he said.
"That is why I said I needed to make sure. This is the range we've seen so far. But it could be more. So we're continuing that work”.
A technical committee comprising the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Indian High Commission is working very fast, he said.
He said the agreement to withdraw Indian troops from Maldives was finalised during meetings between officials at various levels of the two countries prior to his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The President said that four or five meetings have been held in this regard.
Noting that the government is not hiding anything, the President said that during his meeting with Modi, the Prime Minister assured him that India would respect the democratic decision of the people of Maldives. He also told Modi that Maldives has stability only if stability in the region is ensured.
"I said [at Modi's meeting] that there are sensitivities and concerns of the people of Maldives. We all want these issues to be addressed and resolved. We are not against any country”.
The PPM-PNC coalition's campaign for the presidential election was mostly claiming that thousands of Indian troops were stationed in Maldives.
