'Irresponsible': Pakistan slams India's decision to hold G20 meetings in Kashmir

Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday termed India’s decision to hold G-20 meetings in Kashmir next month as “irresponsible”, saying the move is the latest in a series of self serving measures to perpetuate its ‘illegal’ occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. The Foreign Office’s statement came after the Narendra Modi government announced the holding of the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar on 22-24 May. “Scheduling of two other meetings of a consultative forum on youth affairs (Y-20) in Leh and Srinagar in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) is equally disconcerting,” the Foreign Office  said in a statement. “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 UN Security Council resolutions and in violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law. Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves,” it added. The statement added that India is again exploiting its membership of an important international grouping for advancing its self-serving agenda. Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by the two nuclear-armed neighbours who have fought two of their three wars over control of the region. 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. According to Reuters, India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to its request seeking comment on the statement from Pakistan. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of stoking a decades-long separatist insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in India. Islamabad denies that accusation, saying it only provides diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiris seeking self-determination. Pakistan also accuses India of human rights violations in the parts of Kashmir under its control, a charge New Delhi rejects. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.