FM Bilawal visits Azad Kashmir to express solidarity with Kashmiri People

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrived in Azad Kashmir on Monday for a three-day visit to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people, according to Pakistani state media, as New Delhi hosts a Group of 20 (G20) tourism meeting in the Himalayan region it governs.

The meeting will be the first significant international event in Kashmir since New Delhi took away semi-autonomy from the Muslim-majority region in 2019. The Indian government is hoping that the meeting will demonstrate that the controversial changes have brought “peace and prosperity” to the region.

On Monday, the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir announced protests and rallies across the region against the G-20 summit in Srinagar and human rights violations in the Indian-administered section.

“Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will address the joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council in Muzaffarabad on Monday,” according to state-run Radio Pakistan.

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“He will reiterate Pakistan’s unwavering support for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination.”

Relationships between bitter rivals Since August 5, 2019, when New Delhi revoked the semi-autonomous status of the part of Kashmir it controls, dividing it into two federally administered territories, India and Pakistan have been at odds.

Since their independence from British rule in 1947, the Muslim-majority Himalayan region has been a source of contention between Pakistan and India. Both neighbours rule parts of the Himalayan territory, but claim the entire region, and have fought two of their four wars over it.

Pakistan has accused New Delhi of attempting to change the demographics of the region by revoking Kashmir’s autonomy, and has demanded that the international community take notice.

However, New Delhi has responded by saying that it is free to hold meetings on its own territory.

Srinagar, known for its rolling Himalayan foothills and exquisitely decorated houseboats, has become a major domestic tourist destination since the 2019 changes. For months, hotels have been mostly booked. Millions of visitors have come to Kashmir to enjoy the strange peace maintained by ubiquitous security checkpoints, armoured vehicles, and patrolling soldiers.

The city has spruced up its commercial centre and roads leading to the convention centre on Dal Lake in preparation for the G20 meeting, while police have increased security even further, erecting a massive security cordon around the site.