India is at it again. It seems to love following the ‘Annoy your neighbours’ policy. First it was China, now its Pakistan. For the first time, India will be hosting the Group of 20 (G20) countries summit in New Dehli in September. But before that, it will also be hosting the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar in May.
India recently took over the presidency of the G20, and its seems to be taking advantage of it. G20 is an economic group that consists of 19 countries as well as the European Union. Instead of acting responsibly, which was deemed necessary for the position it was holding, India has deliberately chosen Srinagar as the venue. Everyone knows that the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of which were over Kashmir. On top of it, in 2019, Narendra Modi’s government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which granted the occupied valley partial autonomy, much to the annoyance of Islamabad. By deciding to host the meeting in Srinagar, New Delhi is certainly not acting as a good neighbour and is only flaring up the already volatile situation. It seems to be an attempt by New Delhi to legitimise its claims on the territory.
Islamabad’s reaction was natural and right. India made an irresponsible move. In a strongly-worded statement, Pakistan foreign ministry said: “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 United Nations Security Council resolutions and in violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law. Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves.”
It further said that events like these could not hide the reality of Jammu and Kashmir being an internationally recognised dispute that has remained on the agenda of United Nations Security Council for over seven decades. But what is most unfortunate is the silence of the G20 countries. Apart from China, which objected to the venue of the meeting, none have raised their voice. They should not forget that there is a UN resolution with regards to the Kashmir dispute, and Pakistan has left no stone unturned in raising the issue at every forum. India had also annoyed China by hosting the G20 RIIG meeting in Arunachal Pradesh and later through the visit of its home minister, Amit Shah, to the region, which Beijing claims as its own. Indian media is also hands in glove with its government. It is trying to paint an ‘all is good’ image in occupied Kashmir.
One such media outlet is the Times of India, which has claimed that the event would be an opportunity for India to refute claims of human rights violations and convey to the world that normalcy had returned to the territory. Pakistan should lobby with its friendly countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. It also needs to raise its concerns with all G20 member countries and apprise them of India’s human rights violations in the occupied valley and its brutal suppression of Kashmiris.
The Indian government is violating all norms and adopting all means to subjugate the people of the valley. The international community needs to realise that Indian propaganda was misleading it. Indian evil knows no bounds. Kashmiris are facing the worst atrocities but their spirits cannot be suppressed. The world in general and the G20 countries in particular should send a clear message to New Delhi and express their solidarity with the Kashmiris.
