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The Foreign Office on Sunday rubbished a video clip circulating on social media that had implied Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had “threatened” India over an upcoming G20 meeting in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“In a number of public pronouncements during his recent visit to India, the foreign minister emphasized the critical importance of relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions for a peaceful settlement of Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Clearly, he based his case on international law,” read a statement issued by the Foreign Office, noting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already articulated Pakistan’s position in a press release issued last month.
“Any insinuation, associating the foreign minister’s remarks with a threat of violence, is not only mischievous but highly irresponsible,” it stressed. “It is an attempt to shift focus from the foreign minister’s key message of conflict resolution through dialogue and in accordance with international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions,” it said, adding that journalistic norms must be respected while reporting on sensitive inter-state matters.
Last week, Bhutto-Zardari became the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in 12 years when he attended the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa. During his trip, the foreign minister stressed on a need to resolve all pending issues through dialogue, but stressed that it was incumbent on India to facilitate the process by reversing the illegal steps of Aug. 5, 2019, when it unilaterally abrogated the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir.