Pakistan has launched a diplomatic campaign denouncing India’s plan to hold some of the events related to the 2023 G20 summit in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government planning to hold some events related to the G20 summit in J&K, Islamabad has already reached out to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s ‘iron brother’ China, conveying its objection to New Delhi’s plan to take the foreign leaders to the newest Union Territory of India.
Islamabad already asked Beijing, Ankara and Riyadh to convey to New Delhi that they might consider boycotting the G23 summit next year if the Modi Government did not drop its plan to hold some of the events related to the conclave in J&K, a source told DH. The countries Pakistan reached out to with the request to dissuade India from going ahead with its plan, however, remained non-committal so far, added the source.
Modi will host the leaders of the other G20 nations for the summit, which will be held in October or November next year.
The G20 summit this year will be hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali.
The main events of the 2023 G20 summit are proposed to be held in Delhi and construction works are now going on to give Pragati Maidan in the national capital a facelift and to turn it into the venue for the conclave.
New Delhi, however, also has plans to hold some of the events in J&K so that the foreign leaders, who would come for the summit, could also visit the Union Territory. The plan is being seen by Islamabad as a move by India to assert its claim on J&K as an integral part of its territory and reject Pakistan’s claim on it before the international community.
The Modi Government had in August 2019 stripped the erstwhile state of J&K of its special status and reorganised it into two Union Territories. Pakistan, supported by China and Turkey, had then launched a campaign, making a renewed attempt to internationalize its dispute with India over J&K. India had blocked all attempts by Pakistan and China to bring the issue of J&K back on the formal agenda of the United Nations Security Council.
India has been maintaining that the 1972 Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan and the 1999 Lahore Declaration had left no scope for the UN or any other third party to play any role in resolving the “outstanding issues” between the two South Asian neighbours.
“The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and shall continue to be an integral part of India. (The) issues related to J&K are internal matters to India,” a senior official in New Delhi said, adding that India will foil the latest attempt by Pakistan to raise the issue in any international forum. “Pakistan must vacate the territory of India it illegally occupied in J&K”