New Delhi: Days after Pakistan condemned India for holding G20 meetings in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that these places are "integral and inseparable" parts of the country and thus it was only natural to host such meetings there.
Addressing the weekly media conference in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs' spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "These G20 events and meetings are being held across India, in every region of the country. Holding such meetings in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is very natural because we have always considered them integral and inseparable parts of India". According to the calendar, a G20 Tourism Working Group meeting has been scheduled in Srinagar on May 22-24 and two other meetings of a consultative forum on youth affairs in Leh and Srinagar.
Meanwhile, ahead of the G20 meetings, Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday held a high-level meeting in New Delhi to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director General of Police Jammu and Kashmir Dilbagh Singh and other senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Central Armed Police Forces.
Also Read: China voices opposition to India's reported plans to hold a G20 meeting in J&K
On April 11, condemning India's decision, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry in a statement said, "India's irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir". It went on to accuse India of disregarding the UN Security Council resolutions and violating the principles of the UN Charter and international law. "Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves," a Pakistan Foreign Ministry statement read.
