Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday expressed its "strong indignation" over India's decision to hold the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Jammu and Kashmir next month, terming it a "self-serving move". India assumed the year-long presidency of the G20 in December last year and aims to host a leaders' summit in New Delhi in early September. The G20 is an important forum of the world's 20 major developed and developing economies.
"Pakistan expresses its strong indignation over India's decision to hold the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar on 22-24 May 2023. Scheduling of two other meetings of a consultative forum on youth affairs (Y-20) in Leh and Srinagar...is equally disconcerting," the Foreign Office said. "India's irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures... Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves, it said.
The FO said that such events cannot hide the reality of Jammu and Kashmir being an "internationally recognised dispute" that has remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades. "Nor could such activities divert international community's attention from" Kashmir, it said.
By electing to host G20 events in Jammu and Kashmir, the FO said, India is once again “exploiting its membership of an important international grouping to advance its self-serving agenda”. The statement added that India, which has a “grandiose vision” about itself and its place in the world, had once more demonstrated that it was “unable to act as a responsible member of the international community”.
Last Friday, India renewed its G20 calendar pointing out that the meeting of the working group on tourism will take place from May 22 to 24. The central government is expecting a response in Kashmir similar to that of the G20 meeting in Arunachal. India will use this as an opportunity to It will be an opportunity to show that normalcy has returned to the valley and refute Pakistan's claims of human rights violations in the region.
Also read: India finalises G20 in Srinagar, rebuffs Pakistan and China
