Pakistan’s malice shows up again – Kashmir issue raised ahead of Bilawal Bhutto’s Goa visit

Just one day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto visits Goa for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers meeting, Pakistani President Dr Arif Alvi has asked the foreign ministry to launch a campaign against India’s G20 summit in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

In a letter to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday, Alvi asked the MoFA to intensify its efforts to “expose India” over its move to hold the G20 Summit in Kashmir – “the UN-recognised disputed territory”.

Alvi was responding to a letter by the Srinagar-based All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) whose convener Mehmood Ahmed Saghar had written to the Pakistani President about the Indian government’s plan to invite G20 member countries to Srinagar, which would make Kashmir look like India’s internal matter instead of an international issue.

Saghar wanted Pakistani President to push for “a mega diplomatic offensive by Pakistan in the UN, and other regional and international fora to expose India’s nefarious designs and its ulterior motives behind the meeting in Indian-held Kashmir”.

The APHC had joined chorus with Pakistan against the G20. According to the Pakistani media, the APHC went to the extent of complaining to the heads of G20 nations that “the Indian plan to hold such a high-profile meeting in the UN-recognised disputed territory is tantamount to undermining the credibility of the United Nations”.

Pakistan has been crying hoarse for nearly a year about India hosting the prestigious G20 events in J&K. Even China has joined Pakistan in criticising India over holding G20 events in Ladakh.

In a recent article, India Narrative had highlighted how Pakistan’s propaganda campaign against G20 had failed despite a plethora of dubious social media handles against G20 from Lahore and Islamabad. The world simply chose to ignore Pakistan’s rantings about India and Kashmir.

The Indian government has, however, despite Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and infiltration of armed militants, brought normalcy to the region by bringing in foreign investment, opening up cinema halls and by involving Kashmiri youth in developmental and sporting activities.

With just one day to go before Bilawal Bhutto arrives in Goa for the SCO conference, to be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s Qin Gang also, Pakistan has tried to vitiate the atmosphere between the two nations.

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