ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan condemned India’s decision to hold the G20 summit next month in the disputed Kashmir Himalayan region, calling the move “irresponsible”.
Kashmir is fully claimed, but partially dominated by her two nuclear-armed neighbors, in which he has fought two of her three wars for control of the region.
India now holds her one-year rotating chairmanship of the G20 and is set to host a summit in New Delhi in early September.
On Friday, India released a full calendar of events leading up to the summit. This includes her G20 and Youth 20 meetings in Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, and Leh, in the neighboring Ladakh region, in April and May.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the choice of sites in the conflict zone. “India’s irresponsible move is the latest in a series of selfish steps to keep Jammu and Kashmir squattered,” he said.
She further accused India of “ignoring UN Security Council resolutions and acting in violation of the UN Charter and the principles of international law.”
“Pakistan vehemently condemns these measures,” she said.
The Indian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Pakistan’s statement.
New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of fomenting a decades-old separatist uprising in Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state.
Islamabad denied the allegations, saying it was only providing diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination. Pakistan also accuses India of human rights abuses in parts of its controlled Kashmir, an accusation New Delhi denies.
