Abdulla Shahid, the newly elected president of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and former Foreign Affairs Minister of Maldives, on Sunday said that Prime Minister Mohamed Muizzu’s claims about “thousands of Indian military personnel” were merely another in a series of lies.
Mohamed Muizzu, who is widely seen as a pro-China leader, has been making statements against the presence of Indian military personnel in Maldives ever since he took office in November last year. The Maldives government led by Mohamed Muizzu recently alleged that the previous administration had permitted Indian soldiers to be based in the island nation, thereby compromising national sovereignty.
Shahid added that there are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in the island nation. He also sought transparency from the Muizzu government, while adding “the truth must prevail.”
Shahid wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “100 days in, it’s clear: President Muizzu’s claims of ‘thousands of Indian military personnel’ were just another in a string of lies. The current administration’s inability to provide specific numbers speaks volumes. There are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in the country. Transparency matters, and the truth must prevail.”
Indian troops in Maldives
The removal of Indian troops in the island nation was the mainstay of the campaign led by Muizzu’s party. Currently, there are around 70 Indian troops along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters stationed in the Maldives.
Indian troops stationed in Maldives are there for the operation and maintenance of the Dornier aircraft and two helicopters that are mostly used for medical evacuations. As soon as he assumed office, Muizzu requested the Indian government withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives.
In December last year, the Maldivian president claimed that after talks with the Indian government, an agreement was reached to withdraw Indian military personnel from the archipelago.
Unlike his previous statements, in January, Muizzu told India to withdraw its troops by March 15. In February this year, the Ministry of External Affairs said India will replace military personnel at aviation platforms in Maldives that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services with competent Indian technical personnel.
"Both sides also agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac services (medical evacuation) to the people of Maldives," the MEA said.
“Both sides agreed that the Government of India will replace the military personnel in one of the three aviation platforms by March 10 and will compete replacing military personnel in the other two platforms by May 10,” the Maldivian foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
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