NEW DELHI, Aug 23: Apparently irked by the remarks of a European official who called Jammu & Kashmir the world's most beautiful prison, India has withdrawn its patronage to future visits to the Valley by European parliamentary delegations, news reports said on Monday.

The Times of India said that New Delhi will not stop such visits to Jammu and Kashmir or any other place but would no longer assist them as it has been doing of late. Similar patronage was withdrawn from visits to Kashmir by the European Union's envoys in Delhi last year after they started 'lecturing' the government on improving the human rights situation there.

India reports said New Delhi had rejected an official claim by the parliamentary delegation, headed by John Cushnahan of Ireland, saying its understanding of the situation in the Jammu and Kashmir was 'not accurate'.