Denounces the call for G20 meetings in Indian Kashmir and asks New Delhi not to be a “hostage” of the past
May 5. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, lamented this Friday the Indian government’s unwillingness to address the historical issue of the disputed border region of Kashmir after denouncing New Delhi’s “illegal stance” in calling a G20 meeting in the portion under his control, before calling for harmony again and asking the Indian government not to be a “hostage of history”.
The tension in Kashmir is the great historical point of friction between the two countries, which have been involved in two large-scale armed conflicts over this territory since the independence of the United Kingdom in 1947. In 1999 there was a brief but intense military confrontation between the two nuclear powers and since 2003 a fragile truce has been maintained.
Indian Kashmir, for example, is the scene of ongoing interfaith tensions — it is home to most of India’s Muslims, a Hindu-majority country — and militia attacks on Indian border forces. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of promoting the activities of these groups, something that Pakistan has categorically denied while also denouncing that the Indian government discriminates as a rule against the Muslim population of the region.
In this difficult context, Zardari has not skimped on criticizing the Indian government since the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that is being held precisely in the Indian city of Goa, where he has lamented the prevailing “trust deficit”. between the two countries right now, fueled by India’s “illegal” decision to convene a G20 meeting in the portion of the territory under its control.
Bhutto Zardari regretted the negative turning point in bilateral relations represented by the Indian government’s decision to revoke in August 2019 the special status enjoyed by Kashmir, an “illegal and unilateral” decision that “did a lot of damage” to the state of relations. to the point that, in the opinion of the Pakistani Foreign Minister, “now the burden falls on India to create an environment conducive to developing talks.”
The minister particularly virulently condemned the G20 meetings to be held this month in the capital of Indian Kashmir, Srinagar, and has warned that his country “will provide a memorable response” against this “mean decision” by the Indian government; a “display of arrogance that comes to say ‘to hell with International law, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements'”.
However, Bhutto Zardari has once again reached out to the Indian authorities. “Deep in our hearts, most Pakistanis and most Indians want us to live in peace and peace is our destiny,” he added during his appearance, reported by the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’. “God willing, our generation will not be a hostage to history, but will begin to create its own,” added the Pakistani Foreign Minister, one of the most relevant figures in the country’s coalition government.
