ISLAMABAD: Pakistan "completely rejects" New Delhi's bid to hold 2023 meetings of the G-20, an influential group of the world's major economies, in Indian-administered Kashmir, the Pakistani foreign office said on Saturday.
The statement came in response to Indian media reports suggesting that India, which will be holding the G-20 presidency from December 2022 till November 2023, is planning to host 2023 meetings of the G-20 in the disputed Himalayan territory and has tasked its external affairs ministry to ensure necessary arrangements in this regard.
The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that works to address issues relating to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
"Pakistan completely rejects any such attempt by India. As is well-known, Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized 'disputed' territory between Pakistan and India," the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
"The territory has been under forcible and illegal occupation of India since 1947 and this dispute has remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades."
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both countries rule part of the disputed territory, but claim the region in its entirety. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
In August 2019, New Delhi stripped the region of its autonomy and divided it into two federally administered units, prompting Pakistan to downgrade diplomatic relations and also suspend trade ties with India.
Islamabad said India's plans to hold any G-20-related events in Kashmir are in “utter disregard of the globally acknowledged ‘disputed’ status of the territory” and called it a "travesty that the international community cannot accept under any circumstances."
"It is expected that in case of any such controversial proposal from India, which would be designed to seek international legitimacy for an illegal and tyrannical occupation continuing for over 7 decades, the G20 members will be fully cognizant of the imperatives of law and justice and would reject it out-right," the foreign office added.
