Pakistan on Tuesday expressed its strong indignation over the decision of India to hold the G20 Tourism Working Group meetings in Srinagar on May 22-24.
“India’s irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in sheer disregard of the UN Security Council resolutions and in violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.
The FO said, “With its decision to host G20 events in IIOJK, India is again exploiting its membership of an important international grouping for advancing its self-serving agenda.”
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It said the scheduling of two other meetings of a consultative forum on youth affairs (Y-20) in Leh and Srinagar in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) was equally disconcerting.
“Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves. Such events cannot hide the reality of Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute that has remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades,” it said.
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India’s Plans to Hold G-20 Meetings in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir
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— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 11, 2023
The statement added that such activities could not divert the international community’s attention from India’s brutal suppression of the people of IIOJK including illegal attempts to change the demographic composition of the occupied territory.
It said for a country that has a grandiose vision of itself and its place in the world, India has once more demonstrated that it is unable to act as a responsible member of the international community.
India has fixed the date for the G20 meetings in Srinagar, ignoring the protests of China and Pakistan. Pakistan and China both had objected to the Indian design to hold the meetings in disputed areas but now the Indians have announced the schedule. Pakistan also sensitized G20 member countries about its reservation pertaining to Indian design to host a meeting on tourism in Srinagar.
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Courtesy: APP with additional input by GVS