Government agencies have not provided the transition committees with adequate information on the number of Indian troops in the Maldives, Spokesperson at the President-elect’s Office Mohamed Firuzul Abdulla Khaleel said on Wednesday.
Khaleel, responding to repeated queries by the media at a press conference, said he could not provide any details on the matter and that, prior to President-elect Mohamed Muizzu taking office, those questions should be directed at the current administration.
“I mentioned yesterday that we have not received enough information about the number of Indian troops,” he said.
He did not, however, name any specific agency that was not cooperating on the issue, in turn reiterating that sufficient information was not available to him. Khaleel’s comments come as the nation is heading into the last week of the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih administration with president-elect Muizzu poised to take the oath of office on 17 November.
Last week, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, Director General (DG) of Transition and Chairman of the People’s National Congress (PNC), also said that the exact number of Indian troops in the Maldives still remained unclear.
Speaking to reporters, Abdulla clarified that, while the incoming administration had gleaned a lot of information from state agencies, the exact number of Indian troops in the Maldives had not been established.
“They [Indian troops] are definitely there,” he said.
The removal of Indian troops was a key campaign pledge by President-elect Muizzu.