ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, on Thursday, categorically rejected India’s politically-motivated move to host the meeting of the G-20 “Tourism Working Group” in Srinagar in complete disregard of the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, principles of the UN Charter, and international law.
Speaking at her weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan greatly appreciates the decisions taken by China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye to stay away from the meeting as the G-20 members, and Egypt and Oman, who also declined to attend as special invitees.
She said that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognised disputed territory and the dispute has remained on the agenda of the UNSC for over seven decades.
In that backdrop, she added that India hosted the meeting on May 22-24, 2023 in the IIOJK in complete disregard of the relevant UNSC resolutions, principles of the UN Charter, and international law.
“Holding the G-20 meeting in a disputed territory is a betrayal of the people of IIOJK,” she said, adding that for the last seven decades, they have been waiting for the international community to pay attention to their plight and to bring an end to the occupation and human rights violations.
She said that tourism and development cannot be promoted by holding the local population hostage and denying them their rights and freedoms. By holding the G-20 meeting in Srinagar, she added that India cannot hide the reality of its illegal occupation of the IIOJK and the oppression of the Kashmiri people.
“India’s facade of normalcy in Kashmir is met by the harsh reality that IIOJK remains one of the most militarized zones on the planet,” she said, adding that the extreme security measures, arbitrary arrests and harassment of the local population around the Srinagar meeting refute the claims of normalcy in the colonised territory.
As demonstrated by low-level representation and the absence of a number of important invitees at the Srinagar meeting, she added that India has clearly failed in hiding the reality in the IIOJK behind a veneer of normalcy.
“We greatly appreciate the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Türkiye, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman for not attending the Srinagar meeting. These countries have stood for international law and for the primacy of the UN Charter,” she said.
The G-20 was established, primarily, to address global financial and economic issues.
“By holding this meeting in the occupied territory, India has politicised yet another international forum, and is exploiting its position as the current Chair to advance its self-serving agenda,” she added.
She said that India should instead provide unhindered access to the international media and independent human rights organisations to report on the situation in the IIOJK. “It must bring an end to the repression it has unleashed there, agree to the establishment of the UN Commission of Inquiry and hold a UN-supervised plebiscite for the people of Kashmir to determine their own future,” she asserted.
She said that Pakistan, for its part, will continue to extend its moral, diplomatic, and political support to the Kashmiri people’s just struggle for the realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant UNSC resolutions.
To a question, she refuted “speculations” that Pakistan has joined one bloc or the other. “Pakistan has a consistent policy that we do not believe in bloc politics. We have an All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with China. It is a relationship that has grown from strength to strength over the last several decades and both countries are committed to this relationship,” she said.
Similarly, she added that Pakistan has “excellent” relations with a large number of countries around the world, in the Middle East, in the Asia Pacific, in Europe, and in Africa.
“The United States especially, is one of the oldest friends and partner of Pakistan and the biggest export market. Our relations with the US are perhaps as old as Pakistan itself,” she said.
She added that Pakistan-US relations are multidimensional with several areas of cooperation with Pakistani Americans acting as a bridge between Pakistan and the United States. “We have no desire to take sides or to join one bloc or the other,” she added.
Commenting on the letter sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by over 60 congressmen on Pakistan’s situation, she said: “We have seen the letter. We do not agree with the characterization of the events of May 9 and the situation in Pakistan, as reflected in that letter.”
She said that the National Security Committee, in its recent meeting, has spelt out the factual situation around the events of May 9. “Pakistan remains committed to its constitutional obligations to protect the rights and property of all its citizens. These constitutional guarantees and fundamental freedoms are being underwritten by our judiciary,” she added.
When asked to comment on former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement about the situation in Pakistan, she declined to comment on such statements by officials and people who are not in government or hold any public office.
“We have made our position known about such statements on the situation in Pakistan…Pakistan has the resilience and capacity to overcome all domestic challenges,” she said, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to protect Pakistan's interests and project Pakistan’s viewpoint on the international stage.
To another query about the developments in the Middle East, she said that Pakistan has welcomed the recent developments in the region, where countries are normalising relations.
“We welcome the recent normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Iran and Egypt and the peace measures which have been taken with respect to the conflict in Yemen. We also welcome the return of Syria to the Arab League fold,” she said.
She said that Pakistan hopes that with peace restored and normalisation of relations between countries in the region, all of which are good friends of Pakistan, new opportunities would arise for the progress and prosperity of the people of this region, including for the people of Pakistan.
She also announced that Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Aleinik will undertake an official visit to Islamabad on May 30-31, 2023 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
The two foreign ministers will hold wide-ranging talks covering a range of topics of bilateral interest. They will undertake an overview of bilateral relations and explore enhanced cooperation in political, economic, defence, and science and technology domains, she added.
She further stated that Foreign Secretary DrAsadMajeed Khan will travel to Azerbaijan and Georgia from 31st May to 1st June 2023 to hold Bilateral Political Consultations.
In Baku, she added that the foreign secretary will co-chair the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Bilateral Political Consultations with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Elnur Mammadov of Azerbaijan.
“The two sides will review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations with a view to further strengthening cooperation in political, economic, energy, education and culture fields,” she said.
On 1st June 2023, Dr Asad Majeed Khan will lead the Pakistan delegation at the inaugural round of Bilateral Political Consultations with Georgia. The Georgian side will be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili, she added.
She said that the talks will focus on strengthening economic and commercial ties. The agenda includes cooperation in cultural, education, tourism, defence and security matters, and cooperation in multilateral fora. The two sides will also sign one MoU on the formal initiation of the Bilateral Political Consultations, she added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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