A Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, arrived in Srinagar on Tuesday as part of a four-day study visit to Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to review strategic border security and foreign policy issues, officials and committee members said.

The panel, which was earlier in Jammu, reached Srinagar before proceeding to Kargil and Leh on June 24–25 to gain first-hand insights into border management and the security situation in frontier areas. The committee will meet senior civil and military leaders and interact with residents of forward locations, according to the committee office.

“The purpose of this visit is to examine on-the-ground realities along our borders and to better understand recent developments in India’s bilateral relations that bear on national security,” Tharoor said.

Committee members held detailed discussions with Army and paramilitary commanders, as well as local administrators, in Srinagar on Tuesday and will meet community representatives across the two Union Territories.

Key agenda:

• Cross-border terrorism and border management along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB).
• India-China relations and the security situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
• Bilateral issues, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and its wider regional implications.
• The impact of the West Asia conflict on regional stability and trade routes, including concerns about a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its effects on India.

Congress MP and committee member Rajeev Shukla told News24 that the delegation expects briefings from “top Army brass” and will assess evolving bilateral ties with both China and Pakistan.

“We will also review the West Asia conflict and its impact, including expectations regarding any US-Iran diplomatic outcomes and the consequences of disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Before departing from New Delhi, the committee received a briefing from the Ministry of External Affairs and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Sino-Indian relations and India’s diplomatic posture toward Pakistan, officials said.

The visit follows heightened strategic focus in recent years on India’s northern and western frontiers amid clashes with China in eastern Ladakh and sustained cross-border firing along the LoC.

Alongside military and administrative consultations, the delegation plans to interact with residents in forward areas to incorporate local perspectives into parliamentary oversight and policy recommendations.

The committee’s findings and recommendations are expected to contribute to future parliamentary debates and policy deliberations on external affairs and national security.

Analysts and policy observers will closely watch the committee’s assessments on frontline preparedness, recommendations regarding border infrastructure and water diplomacy following the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, and any parliamentary guidance on mitigating the economic and security fallout from instability in West Asia.

The committee’s on-the-ground observations will be compiled into a report for submission to Parliament, helping shape legislative oversight on external affairs amid increasingly complex regional challenges.