Former President Mohamed Nasheed has slammed the government of the United Kingdom over its decision to grant the Peros Banhos Atoll to Mauritius.

Taking to social media platform ‘X’ on Thursday, Nasheed said that UK should not have given Peros Banhos Atoll to Mauritius and asserted that the Maldives has a “clear claim” over the territory.

Nasheed stressed that this is a “deeply misguided” policy.

A joint statement released by the UK and Mauritius on Thursday revealed that the UK has agreed to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including the Peros Banhos Atoll, formerly under British control, to Mauritius.

The Peros Banhos Atoll, nestled in the Chagos Archipelago is one that was previously inhabited.

The atoll spans over 503 square kilometers which is roughly 194 square miles.

However, the land area is a total of 9.6 square kilometers which is approximately 3.7 square miles.

The atoll is a scatter of 32 small islands.

Peros Banhos is a moderately-sized coral atoll. It is an atoll surrounded by a common coral reef.

Peros Banhos closely resembles the atolls of the Maldives, featuring sandy beaches on all its islands mostly covered in coconut palms.

UK and Mauritius have stated that the decision to transfer sovereignty of Chagos to Mauritius was backed and assisted by the government of Maldives’ closest neighbor India as well as the United States of America.