ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Sunday criticized “mischievous” media reports suggesting that the country’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had threatened India during his visit to the neighboring state after he criticized New Delhi’s decision to hold a G20 conference in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
The foreign minister went to India on Thursday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization gathering where he held meetings with officials of other member countries and interacted with the media.
He condemned the administration in New Delhi for organizing a G20 meeting in Indian-administered Kashmir which his country calls an “occupied territory” and claims as its own.
Bhutto-Zardari’s statement that India would not be able to achieve the desired attendance since other nations would “not compromise on their morals” was later described as a veiled threat by Indian media outlets.
“In a number of public pronouncements during his recent visit to India, the Foreign Minister emphasized the critical importance of relevant UN Security Council resolutions for a peaceful settlement of Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” the foreign minister said in response to media queries about the development. “Clearly, he based his case on international law.”
“Any insinuation, associating Foreign Minister’s remarks with a threat of violence, is not only mischievous but highly irresponsible,” it added. “It is an attempt to shift focus from the Foreign Minister’s key message of conflict resolution through dialogue and in accordance with international law and UN Security Council resolutions.”
The foreign office pointed out it had already articulated the country’s position on the G20 tourism working group’s meeting in Kashmir last month.
“The journalistic norms must be respected while reporting on sensitive inter-state matters,” it continued.
Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic relations with India after New Delhi revoked the special constitutional status of Kashmir in August 2019 and announced to integrate it with the rest of the Indian union.
The disputed Himalayan region is claimed in full but ruled in part by both countries who have fought two of their three wars over its control.
Pakistan has frequently criticized India for “rights abuses” in Kashmir and says it is changing the demography of the Muslim-majority region.
