Pakistan opposes India’s plan to hold G20 meetings in Jammu and Kashmir

Pakistan has said that it opposes India’s plan to host some G20 Summit events in Kashmir in 2023.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in a statement said that Islamabad had taken note that India might be “contemplating to hold some G20-related meeting in Jammu and Kashmir”.

“Contemplating the holding of any G20-related meeting/event in JK, in utter disregard of the globally acknowledged ‘disputed’ status of the territory, is a travesty that the international community cannot accept under any circumstances,” the spokesperson said.

“Pakistan completely rejects any such attempt by India,” he added.

Calling Jammu and Kashmir a “disputed” territory between Pakistan and India, Ahmad said that Islamabad it hopes that in case of any such “controversial proposal” from New Delhi, the G20 members will be fully cognisant of the imperatives of law and justice and would reject it outright.

Ahmad called on the international community to urge India to revoke its actions of August 5, 2019, and free all political prisoners.

On Thursday, it was announced that Jammu and Kashmir will be hosting the 2023 meetings of G-20, an influential grouping that brings together the world’s major economies.

The union territory administration has set-up a five-member high-level committee for overall coordination.

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This will be the first major international summit to be held in J&K after its special status guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution was withdrawn and the erstwhile state was divided into two union territories—Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh—in August 2019.

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked since Article 370 of the Constitution was abrogated.

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India’s decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy. Pakistan also halted bilateral trade with India.

India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country.

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