Associating FM's remarks on G-20 meeting with threat of violence 'highly irresponsible': FO

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Sunday termed the reports associating Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks on the G20 meeting in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) with threat to India “highly irresponsible and mischievous”.

The FO’s statement comes as a clip of FM Bhutto-Zardari from his recent visit to Goa, India, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers (SCO-CFM) went viral on social media.

“Any insinuation, associating foreign minister’s remarks with a threat of violence, is not only mischievous but highly irresponsible. 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 UN security council resolutions,” the statement read.

FO furthered that, “In a number of public pronouncements during his recent visit to India, the foreign minister emphasized the critical importance of relevant UN Security Council resolutions for a peaceful settlement of Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Clearly, he based his case on international law.”

The spokesperson further stressed that journalistic norms must be respected while reporting on sensitive inter-state matters. “A number of Indian media outlets had distorted the statement of the foreign minister during his recent visit to India to attend SCO-CFM,” she added.

The ministry of foreign affairs, the spokesperson said, had already articulated Pakistan’s position on the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in IIOJK in its press release on April 11.

“Pakistan had already expressed its strong indignation over India’s decision to hold the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar on 22-24 May,” the press release said.

FM Bilawal went to Goa on Thursday to attend the SCO-CFM. He addressed the gathering of the top diplomats from the eight-nation bloc on Friday.