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Pakistan condemns India's decision to hold G20 meetings in Kashmir

Tuesday, 11 April 2023 5:49 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 11 April 2023 6:01 PM ]

Indian forces patrol a street in Srinagar, October 12, 2021. (Photo by Reuters)

Pakistan has condemned India's decision to hold Group of 20 meetings in the disputed Himalayan Muslim-majority region of Kashmir next month.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the choice of venues in the disputed territory. "Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves," it said.

"India's irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self serving measures to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir," the statement read.

The ministry accused India of acting in "disregard of the UN Security Council resolutions and in violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law."

India, which currently holds the rotating year-long presidency of the G20, on Friday released a full calendar of events leading up to the summit, which included G20 and Youth 20 meetings in Kashmir's summer capital of Srinagar and in Leh, in the neighboring region of Ladakh, in April and May.

Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since their partition in 1947. Both countries claim all of Kashmir and have fought at least three wars over the territory. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of supporting pro-independence fighters, an allegation rejected by the Pakistani government. Islamabad, in turn, is critical of India's heavy military deployment to Kashmir and its crackdown on the region's Muslim population.

Kashmiris unite to protect region’s special status

Indian-controlled Kashmir is on the edge over a challenge to a law that gives the region and its citizens a special status.

The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the self-autonomy of Kashmir in 2019, in a move described by neighboring Pakistan as illegal. Since then, India has imposed more internet shutdowns and other restrictions in the region.

Rights groups say arbitrary detentions and killings by Indian troops are leading to a range of human rights violations, a charge New Delhi rejects.

Kashmir's selection as one of the venues for the meetings may have diplomatic repercussions as some G-20 countries may have differing views on the situation in the Muslim-majority region.

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