Pakistan has called India's plans to organise G20 youth dialogue forums in Srinagar and Leh in neighbouring Ladakh "equally disconcerting."
In response to India's announcement that it would host G20 summit discussions in Srinagar, Pakistan has called the move a "self-serving" ploy to "perpetuate its illegal occupation" of Kashmir.
"Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves," said a statement from the foreign office. According to reports out of Pakistan, government officials have already contacted the United States, the United Kingdom, and other G20 countries to try to prevent New Delhi from hosting the high official-level meetings in the Kashmir area. To counteract India's objectives, Islamabad has also been pressuring other G20 members including China, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.
According to Pakistan's foreign ministry, India is exploiting its membership of an important international grouping to advance its own political agenda.
After India, the current holder of the rotating G20 chair, released its schedule of activities running up to the G20 summit in September on Friday, Pakistan immediately raised objections.
The G20 Tourism Group will be holding a meeting in Srinagar on May 24–26. In preparation for the upcoming international negotiations, the city's streets are being repaved, flowers are being planted, and government buildings are being painted. Dachigam National Park and the Gulmarg resort are on the itinerary for the G20 guests.
"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," said Pakistan's foreign ministry.
Pakistan has branded India's intention to hold G20 youth consultation forums in Srinagar and Leh in nearby Ladakh "equally disconcerting."
Starting on April 26, a three-day youth affairs consultative forum will begin in Leh as a rebuke to China for its extraordinary army buildup near the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh three years ago.
The capital of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is Itanagar, which Beijing considers to be "the southern part of Tibet." In March, India conducted a two-day G20 research and innovation summit there, which enraged China.
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India has claimed that it is within its rights to have G20 summits in both Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
Some 200 events covering a wide range of topics are being held in 56 major cities "from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south" under the slogan "One Earth, One Family, One Future."
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 "Photo: PTI")
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