New Delhi: The crisis in Maldives has sparked a diplomatic row between the country and India after former Maldivian president Mohammed Nasheed took refuge at the Indian High Commission in Male on Thursday. According to sources, Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid is slated to speak to his Maldivian counterpart about the former president.
This came a day after India asked current Maldivian President Mohammed Waheed to ensure Nasheed is able to contest the elections in September as the credibility of the elections would be affected if he is not allowed to contest.
Reacting to the stand taken by India, the Maldivian government earlier hit out at India, saying it was unfortunate that the country was publicly commenting on events in Male.
In an official statement, Male said, "It is unfortunate that the Government of India has decided to publicly comment on today's events instead of opting for bilateral discussions between the two governments. It is further unfortunate that the Government of India has decided to comment on the types of candidates that could contest the upcoming September Presidential Elections."
The Maldivian President's press secretary also pointed that the warrant against Nasheed had expired, after the case in which it was issued was postponed. The press secretary confirmed to CNN-IBN that there was no reason for Nasheed to continue hiding.
Meanwhile, Nasheed's lawyer Hassan Latif said his men had sought Indian mediation to solve the crisis between the current Maldivian government and the former president.
New Delhi had on Wednesday said it would mediate in the matter. Earlier, referring to Nasheed, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai had said, "He has said he needs our assistance. We are talking to him, then we will talk to the government of Maldives."
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