A month and a half into the new administration, the number of Indian soldiers in the Maldives could have risen or fallen but the government does not consider the current troop numbers to pose a threat to national security.
At a press conference held at the President's Office today, journalists repeatedly asked questions about Indian soldiers as the government has been unable to verify their numbers to date.
"Not the first number that was said. That is because later that number was clarified as 70 something. Later it was stated and disclosed as 89. That number remains the same," Mohamed Shaheeb, the government's chief spokesman, said about the Indian troop figure.
Journalists asked to clarify whether the government considers the uncertainty over the number of Indian soldiers to be a danger to national security.
"The question then is whether not confirming the number of soldiers is something that endangers national security. The number of Indian soldiers we're telling the media is the number that we're getting. The relevant institutions after looking into it have not noted it as a danger to national security. They are managing these matters," Shaheeb said.
Despite the government's disclosure of 89 soldiers, the figure is likely to change, Shaheeb said, adding that he does not see that as much of a problem.
"I have said the number of Indian soldiers. That the number we have written is 89. Relevant government agencies are looking into the number and clarifying it. We don't see it as a danger," Shaheeb said at the conclusion of the press briefing when a journalist asked if he did not consider the uncertainty over the troop figure to be a danger.
The latest figure offered by the President's Office is 89 soldiers, which was also previously disclosed by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
The government first announced that there were 77 Indian soldiers in the country. After that, a senior Indian official noted that the figure does not include military doctors at Senahiya hospital. The figure rose to 86 when the nine doctors were counted.
The incumbent President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's entire campaign was built on removing Indian soldiers from the Maldives as his most important pledge.
India agreed to take back the soldiers during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the COP-28 summit, the President said. However, when journalists posed questions, the President did not provide any further details.
Citing government officials, Indian newspapers reported that the countries have not reached such an agreement to date.
