Former journalist Ahmed Azaan, who is contesting for parliament on a ticket of the ruling party, claimed that thousands of Indian soldiers are stationed in Maldives, his social media accounts have shown.
During a campaign event on Tuesday night, a member of the public said Azaan and his Dhiyares new website claimed that thousands of Indian soldiers were stationed in the Maldives.
"About the soldiers, right? That is a very long story. Firstly, claims that there are 2000 Indian soldiers in Maldives, that I said this. That is not something I have ever said. I have never said that in any platforms, whether it is Facebook, Twitter or a public forum," he said.
He further said the Defence Ministry refused to provide the number of Indian soldiers when requested in 2020 and the matter was taken to the Information Commissioner's Office and court.
Despite Azaan's denial, a news article published on Dhiyares on May 3, 2023, said that "a total of nearly 2000 Indian soldiers are in the Maldives."
The article was later edited to remove the statement, but the original article can still be accessed on the Wayback Machine.
Azaan is one of the founders of Dhiyares.
When Dhiyares posted the news article on X, Azaan shared the post at 11:16 pm and wrote that "India has decided to station more troops in Maldives."
Although the Dhivehi language article has been edited, the English version remains unedited and claims that at least 2000 Indian soldiers are in the Maldives.
Meanwhile, in a separate X post, Azaan claimed that "thousands of Indian military personnel" are in the Maldives.
It was posted at 10:22 pm on July 27, 2023, in response to a post by Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the occasion of Maldives Independence Day.
"The friendship is so special that India keeps 1000s of Indian military personnel here. #IndiaOut," Azaan wrote in the post.
Besides being a journalist, Azaan was known to be at the forefront of the India Out campaign carried out by the opposition party which is now in the government.
The government first announced the number of Indian troops on November 19, 2023. The President's Office said there were 77 Indian military personnel in Maldives to operate two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft.
The figure later rose to 89. The government has not yet commented on the increase in the figure.
Adhadhu understands that the additional troops are Indian military doctors and medical officers working at the Senahiya Military Hospital.
