India begins renovation works to 'hide' atrocities in Kashmir: report
Move comes ahead of G20 summit scheduled to be held in Himalayan occupied valley later this year
January 27, 2023
The Narendra Modi-led administration has kick-started renovation works in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)'s Srinagar to "hide" its atrocities in the valley, Kashmiri media reported Friday.
The disputed Himalayan region will host the G20 meeting in May, with the government repairing major roads and drainage systems, a report said.
India plans on holding the controversial session in the occupied territory to apparently woo the world into its false narrative of normalcy in the valley.
The Modi administration in India — which currently holds the Presidency of the Group-20 — has also shortlisted the University of Kashmir as one of the 15 educational institutions where events for the upcoming Y-20 events will take place.
The Y-20, according to its official website, is the official youth engagement group for the G20, the forum for the world’s largest and most advanced economies.
Pakistan has been against India holding the event in the disputed valley and if despite Islamabad's resistance, the Modi administration does go ahead with holding it, the G20 summit will be the first international event in the valley since New Delhi unilaterally revoked the special status of the disputed territory on August 5, 2019.
In a statement last June, Pakistan's Foreign Office said that it rejected any attempts by India to hold the event in the occupied valley.
"As is well-known, Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized “disputed” territory between Pakistan and India. The territory has been under forcible and illegal occupation of India since 1947 and this dispute has remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades."
It further said that contemplating the holding of any G20-related meeting in IIOJK, in utter disregard of the globally acknowledged “disputed” status of the territory, is a travesty that the international community cannot accept under any circumstances.
"It is expected that in case of any such controversial proposal from India, which would be designed to seek international legitimacy for an illegal and tyrannical occupation continuing for over 7 decades, the G20 members will be fully cognisant of the imperatives of law and justice and would reject it out-right."
