NEW DELHI: Indian security agencies have flagged how Pakistan has been writing to countries, which are part of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), asking them to boycott the G20 tourism working group meeting in Srinagar scheduled for May 22-24.
Other than expressing its protest on open forums about India holding a G20 meeting in Srinagar, Pakistan has shot off detailed letters to the OIC countries which are either part of the G20 or are special invitees to the meet, asking them to “boycott” it.
Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are members of the G20 and also of the OIC, a body of 57 countries. India’s special invitee countries include Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Oman and UAE, all members of the OIC. It remains to be seen how many of these heed to Pakistan’s request.
Pakistan claimed Jammu and Kashmir was an “internationally-recognised disputed territory” and cited resolutions of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the OIC.
It referred to the abrogation of Article 370 and told the OIC countries that G20 meetings or events in Kashmir reflected “sheer disregard of relevant UNSC resolutions”. Sources said the UNSC resolutions mandated the first step for Pakistan was to vacate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan feared that participation in the G20 meeting or events in Kashmir would lend “legitimacy” to India and had conveyed the same to OIC, the sources added.
Besides opposing the meet in Srinagar on open forums, Pakistan has shot off detailed letters to OIC countries which are either part of G20 or are special invitees, asking them to ‘boycott’ it.