THE Maldivian government denied any deal to allow ex-president Mohamed Nasheed to end his refuge at the Indian embassy in the capital and resume election campaigning without fear of arrest.
Presidential spokesman Abbas Riaz said Nasheed walked out of the embassy on Saturday afternoon of his own will and there was no agreement with an Indian mediator who rushed to the Maldives last week to resolve a tense standoff.
"There is no deal, absolutely no deal with the Indians or anyone else," Riaz said on Sunday, in the government's first reaction to Nasheed leaving the embassy to resume his political work.
Nasheed, 45, sought refuge at the embassy on February 13, straining ties between regional power India and its small neighbour Maldives, after an arrest warrant was issued following his failure to attend court.
He says his trial is a "politically motivated" attempt to disqualify him from an election due on September 7, a charge denied by the government.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said Nasheed was meeting with visiting Western diplomats on Sunday and would start house-to-house campaigning from Monday.
"He is back on the campaign trail," said MDP spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.
"India arranged a deal to give political space for Nasheed to contest... but still there is a risk (of arrest). We don't trust this rogue regime."
The Maldivian government insists that it will not interfere with a judicial process.
India sent its special envoy, senior diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla, to mediate an end to the crisis after Nasheed took refuge in its high commission to avoid arrest.
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