India is \u201cabusing\u201d its presidency of the G20 by holding a tourism conference in the occupied Kashmir, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told AFP.<\/p>\n
It is the first diplomatic event in the disputed territory since Pakistan suspended trade and diplomatic ties with India in 2019, when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the part of Muslim-majority Kashmir it controls and enforced a heavy security lockdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I could say I was surprised, but I think that this is a continuation in what is becoming a norm now, of India\u2019s arrogance on the international stage,\u201d he told AFP in a Monday interview in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re abusing their presidency of the G20 to push their colonial agenda, but if they think that by holding one event in occupied Kashmir they can silence the voice of the Kashmiri people, then I believe that they are truly mistaken.\u201d<\/p>\n
The India-held Kashmir has been roiled for decades by an insurgency seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, with tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers killed in the conflict.<\/p>\n
Non-G20 member Pakistan controls a smaller part, and says holding the tourism meeting from Monday to Wednesday in the territory violates international law, UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.<\/p>\n
The G20 participants \u2014 made up of the European Union and the world\u2019s 19 top economies \u2014 have been \u201cput in a pretty awkward spot\u201d, said the 34-year-old Bhutto Zardari.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose countries who make it a point to remind us and protest how outrageous it is that international law has been violated in Europe: I believe that they should be just as outraged when international law is violated in Kashmir,\u201d he said, in a reference to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
China, which also claims the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in full as part of Tibet, has stood by Pakistan in condemning the meeting to promote tourism in the area \u2014 renowned for its lakes, meadows and snow-capped mountains.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia and Turkey are not sending government representation, while some Western countries have scaled back their presence, according to reports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
India is \u201cabusing\u201d its presidency of the G20 by holding a tourism conference in the occupied Kashmir, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told AFP. It is the first diplomatic event in the disputed territory since Pakistan suspended trade and diplomatic ties with India in 2019, when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the part of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-332956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n