Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today met Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Leh. Mufti attended a Buddhist function at the Himalayan desert city and vowed to make Leh one of the best tourist destinations in the

Mufti's meeting Dalai Lama, though unconnected to the ongoing Doklam border standoff between India and China, is bound to raise hackles in Beijing, which views the Tibetan spiritual leader as an extremist.

China has always taken strong offence to any foreign leader meeting with the Dalai Lama, and just this week warned Botswana over the Tibetan leader's upcoming visit to the southern African country for a human rights conference.

Mufti's meeting with the Dalai Lama also comes as soldiers from the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army continue their over-a-month-long standoff in Doklam. Armies of the two nuclear-armed countries have been engaged in a non-violent but volatile stand-off over disagreements relating to the trijunction point between India, China and Bhutan.

The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister made absolutely no reference to the border standoff while in Leh, choosing to talk about the need to strengthen the bond between various sections of the society. According to a statement released by the Jammu and Kashmir government, Mufti "praised Dalai Lama for his recent statement in which he had criticized the elements who were out to label Muslims as terrorists".

Mufti also advocated opening up a Mansarovar Yatra route through Leh, which she said would increase footfalls to the area. This is the same Mansarovar Yatra that was among the first casualties of the Doklam standoff.

Mehbooba Mufti and the Dalai Lama also had a one-on-one interaction (Photo: Facebook/Jammu and Kashmir information department) Click here to Enlarge Mehbooba Mufti and the Dalai Lama also had a one-on-one interaction (Photo: Facebook/Jammu and Kashmir information department)

STAND-OFF

Between June 19 and 23, China shut down the Nathu La pass on the Sikkim border, denying entry to a bunch of Indian pilgrims on their way to Kailash Mansoravar (located in Tibet). Beijing later confirmed that the Nathu La pass was shut down because of the military stand-off with India.

That stand-off was sparked after Indian Army soldiers intervened to help their Bhutanese counterparts prevent the PLA from constructing a metal road in Doklam. Ever since then China, which accused India of transgressing into its territory, and India, which demanded a return to status quo, have refused to back down in the high-altitude face off.

Simultaneously, Chinese media, which is state-controlled, has taken a particularly aggressive stand on the stand-off, with the Global Times being its hawkish best, at times hinting at a military escalation that may lead to war.

The Mehbooba Mufti -Dalai Lama meeting, while not connected to what is happening in Doklam, is unlikely to go down well in China.

Beijing most recently took great offence to the Dalai Lama's April visit to Arunachal Pradesh. China had then warned of diplomatic consequences of India allowing the Tibetan leader to visit the state.

New Delhi had dismissed Beijing's objections saying that China had no right to interfere in India's internal affairs.

The Dalai Lama has been living in Dharamshala having exiled himself from Tibet in 1959. He was granted political asylum by the Jawarharlal Nehru government.

(With inputs from Ashraf Wani in Srinagar)

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