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Pakistan slams India's decision to hold G20 meet in disputed Kashmir

Islamabad accuses New Delhi of acting in "disregard" of UNSC resolutions and expresses its "strong indignation" after India's decision to hold G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in the region's Srinagar and Leh cities.

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India-administered Kashmir remains one of the world's most militarised regions, where India has deployed more than 500,000 troops.

Pakistan has condemned India's decision to hold Group of 20 meetings in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir next month, calling the move "irresponsible".

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the choice of venues in disputed territory.

"India's irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir," it said.

It accused India of acting in "disregard of the UN Security Council resolutions and in violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law."

"Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves," it said.

India's Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the statement from Pakistan.

India currently holds the rotating year-long presidency of the G20 and is set to host a leaders' summit in New Delhi in early September.

On Friday, India released a full calendar of events leading up to the summit, which included G20 and Youth 20 meetings in Kashmir's summer capital of Srinagar and in Leh, in the neighbouring region of Ladakh, in April and May.

Heavily militarised region

Kashmir has been claimed by both sides since British rule of the subcontinent ended 75 years ago and Pakistan and India were born.

Rebels in the India-administered portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels' goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

On August 5, 2019, India's Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped disputed Muslim majority Kashmir's semi-autonomous powers, annexed it and downgraded it to a federally governed territory.

Prior to the Modi administration scrapping the key Article 370, outsiders were not allowed to buy land or property in India-administered Kashmir.

India calls the region an "integral part" of its nation and is against holding a UN-backed plebiscite there.

Pakistan sees Kashmir as an unfinished business of partition and its "jugular vein."

India-administered Kashmir remains one of the world's most militarised regions, where India has deployed more than 500,000 troops.

Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have lost their lives in decades of conflict.

SOURCE: ReutersTRT World