India’s decision to hold the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in the disputed region of Kashmir has sparked international backlash and drawn criticism from Pakistan as well.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told the media that India would not be able to silence the voices of the people of occupied Kashmir through such actions.
The G20 Tourism Working Group, under India’s presidency, is scheduled to meet in Srinagar from May 22 to 24. India, which assumed the G20 presidency in December of the previous year, is also set to host a leaders’ summit in New Delhi in early September.
Pakistan strongly expressed its discontent over New Delhi’s choice of holding the G20 meeting in occupied Kashmir, labeling it a “self-serving move.”
FM Bilawal, speaking to the media during his visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), emphasized that India’s violation of UN resolutions undermined its credibility in playing an important role in the world.
Bilawal further mentioned that he had been invited to address the AJK Assembly and would attend a protest rally in solidarity with the Kashmiri people. He believed that India’s actions would reveal its true face to the world.
India’s decision to hold the G20 meeting in Kashmir has faced significant opposition, with several G20 countries either refusing to attend or yet to confirm their participation.
China has taken the lead in boycotting the event, stating its firm opposition to holding meetings in the disputed territory.
Reports suggest that Turkey and Saudi Arabia, both G20 members, have not confirmed their attendance, while Egypt, a guest invited to the event, has also not registered.
Analysts argue that India is utilizing the G20 meeting to normalize what Pakistan considers a military occupation of Kashmir and to create the perception of international approval for its actions since August 5, 2019, which violated the United Nations Security Council resolution on the disputed status of the region.
A UN human rights expert criticized the meeting, stating that it would support a “facade of normalcy” while human rights violations continued to occur in the region. Fernand de Varennes, the special rapporteur on minority issues, expressed concern that the G20 was inadvertently endorsing a sense of normalcy despite ongoing human rights abuses, arbitrary arrests, political persecutions, restrictions, and suppression of free media and human rights defenders.
In response, India dismissed the expert’s statement, labeling them as “baseless” and “unwarranted.” India’s mission at the UN shared its response on Twitter, rejecting the allegations made against the country.
The controversy surrounding the G20 meeting in Kashmir underscores the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan over the disputed region and highlights the international community’s concerns regarding human rights violations in the area.
