Former President Abdullah Yameen says he was disheartened by the comments made by a minister from the President's office about the withdrawal of the Indian troops stationed in the Maldives.
Speaking at a gathering held by PNF last night, Yameen said that the biggest pledge made by the current government was to facilitate the withdrawal of the Indian troops stationed in the Maldives.
Yameen said that days after coming into power, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced that he had communicated with the Indian government about the troops' withdrawal.
However, Yameen said a few weeks back, a Minister from the President's Office said in front of the media that it would not be easy to see the withdrawal of Indian troops from the Maldives. The former President said that he found this disheartening.
Yameen noted that while the government has given a deadline of 15th March to India for troop withdrawal, this has not been the message portrayed by the Indian government and the country's media.
He then asked his lawyer and fellow PNF member, former Vice President Mohamed Jameel Ahmed to make his assessments on these points.
Jameel said that governments and governing are not jokes and that the most important aspect of a country is its sovereign interest. He said that this government came into power with the steadfast promise that it would get this (troops withdrawal) done and now it cannot show excuses for its inability to fulfill this promise.
