Raising the ‘K’ stakes: Why is India hosting some G-20 events in Kashmir?

WASHINGTON: India’s decision to hold upcoming G-20 meetings in Srinagar, the capital city of Indian-administered Kashmir, has been criticised by Pakistan which said New Delhi is exploiting its membership of an important international group to advance its “self-serving” agenda.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry slammed India’s choice of venue for the gatherings. “India’s irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in sheer disregard of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and in violation of the principles of the UN charter and international law. Pakistan vehemently condemns these moves,” according to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Such events cannot hide the reality of Jammu and Kashmir being an internationally recognised dispute that has remained on the agenda of UNSC for over seven decades,” the statement added.

India took over the presidency of the G-20— an economic cooperation bloc comprised of 19 countries and the European Union — in December last year.

The New Delhi government is expected to host a total of 215 G-20 meetings at over 55 locations this year, four of which will be focused on promoting the tourism sector.

Officially, the Indian government did not respond to Pakistan’s objections. However, officials privately pointed out that Pakistan had lobbied its G-20 allies — such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and China — to stop the meeting in Srinagar. It is the first time that a major international event is being held in the region’s largest city after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government scrapped Kashmir’s special status in August 2019 and split it into two federally administered territories.

Since 1947, the Muslim-majority region has been a point of contention between the nuclear armed states of India and Pakistan. “The G-20 meet in Kashmir will serve as an opportunity for India to display the reality to the world that normalcy has returned in the union territory,” a senior Indian official told DW.

Last week, India released a full calendar of events leading up to the summit, which included G-20 and Y20 youth diplomacy meetings in Srinagar and in Leh, in the neighbouring union territory of Ladakh. Around 50 delegates are expected to participate in the G-20 meeting in Srinagar that will be an opportunity for India to refute Pakistan’s claims of human rights violations in the Kashmir Valley.

Indian officials and former diplomats said the G-20 presidency offers an opportunity to showcase New Delhi’s leading role in global affairs, particularly at a time when the world is confronting multiple geopolitical and economic crises.

“This is pro-forma outrage by Pakistan. The reaction is unsurprising, given that the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement does not want to give reason to Imran Khan to question their Kashmir posture,” Ajay Bisaria, a former high commissioner to Pakistan told DW. “Pakistan would be well advised not to overhype the issue since that would only reduce its own diplomatic space.” “Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India,” former diplomat Meera Shankar told DW. “Its economy is tourism focused and the climate there is very pleasant in May, when temperatures in the rest of India are very high. It is an appropriate venue to hold a tourism-related meeting.”

Preparations for meetings are underway in Srinagar and adjoining areas. Foreign delegates will also be taken on a sightseeing tour to Baramulla, Dachigam National Park, and to the ski resort of Gulmarg. While violence has subsided in the region since 2019 after the major political makeover, Kashmiris say the tentative peace comes at a cost.