Maldivian Ex-Foreign Minister Denies Presence of Indian Troops, Calls President's Claims Lies

Defense News ,India , Maldives :-  Former Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid, recently spoke out against President Mohamed Muizzu's claims regarding the presence of "thousands of Indian military personnel" in the Maldives. Shahid, now the president of the Maldivian Democratic Party, dismissed Muizzu's statements as lies, emphasizing that there are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in their country.

In a social media post, Shahid stressed the importance of transparency and the need for the truth to prevail. He asserted, "Transparency matters, and the truth must prevail."

It's noteworthy that Muizzu's party campaigned for the removal of Indian troops in the Maldives. Currently, there are approximately 70 Indian troops, along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters stationed in the Maldives.

Muizzu, on his second day in office, officially requested the Indian government to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives. In December of the previous year, he claimed that an agreement had been reached with the Indian government to withdraw military personnel after diplomatic talks.

Muizzu outlined the withdrawal plan, stating that military personnel on one of the three aviation platforms would be withdrawn before March 10, 2024, and those on the remaining two platforms would be withdrawn before May 10, 2024. However, the Ministry of External Affairs in India recently announced that they would replace military personnel at aviation platforms in the Maldives with competent Indian technical personnel.