Pakistan slams India for "abusing" G20 presidency

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticized India for "abusing" its G20 presidency by holding a conference in occupied Kashmir.

It is the first diplomatic event in the 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.

"I wish I could say I was surprised, but I think that this is a continuation in what is becoming a norm now, of India's arrogance on the international stage," Bhutto Zardari told AFP in an interview on May 22 in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, reports Daily Sabah.

"They're 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."

His comments prompted a sharp rebuke from Indian officials.

The Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir has been roiled for decades by an insurgency seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, with tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and Kashmiri rebels killed in the conflict.

Non-G20 member Pakistan controls a smaller part, and says holding the tourism meeting from May 22-24 in the territory violates international law, UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.

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 renowned for its lakes, meadows and snow-capped mountains.

It did not attend, while Muslim nations Saudi Arabia and Türkiye did not send government representation and some Western countries scaled back their presence.