India hosts G20 tourism meet in Kashmir under heavy security

A Group of 20 (G20) tourism meeting is being held in Indian-administered Kashmir amid high security, with China and Pakistan condemning holding the event in the disputed region.

The Himalayan territory of Kashmir is the cause of a dispute between India and Pakistan since their independence 75 years ago. The two nuclear powers – who claim it in entirety but rule over parts of it – have fought two of their three full-scale wars over the territory.The Indian portion of Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim-majority region, has been roiled for decades by an armed rebellion seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, with tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and Kashmiri rebels killed in the conflict.

Police said last week that security had been beefed up “to avoid any chance of terrorist attack during the G20” meeting, the first diplomatic event in the disputed region since New Delhi revoked its limited autonomy and took direct control in 2019.The three-day gathering starting Monday is being held at a sprawling, well-guarded venue on the shores of Dal Lake in the region’s main city of Srinagar.

Roads leading to the location have been black-topped for the occasion, and electricity poles lit up in the colours of India’s national flag to show what officials say is “normalcy and peace returning” to the region.

On Monday, Srinagar appeared calm. Most of the security checkpoints were removed or camouflaged with cubicle-like security posts made of G20 signages behind which security officials stood.

Officials said hundreds of officers were specially trained for what they call “invisible policing” for the event.‘Normalcy of a graveyard’
But authorities closed the main road leading to the convention centre for civilian traffic and shut many schools in the city.

Mondays’ measures contrasted starkly to the security imposed in the days before the event. A massive security cordon was placed around the venue on the shores of Dal Lake with elite naval commandos patrolling in rubber boats in the water.Indian authorities hope the G20 meeting will show the 2019 changes brought “peace and prosperity” to the region. The delegates will discuss topics such as green tourism and destination management. Side events on ecotourism and role of films in promoting tourist destinations have also been scheduled.

“We have the making of a unique meeting,” India’s chief coordinator for the G20, Harshvardhan Shringla, told reporters on Sunday.

He said the event will have the highest representation of foreign delegates in comparison to previous tourism meetings India held in the states of West Bengal and Gujarat earlier this year.

But Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a political analyst based in the region, told Al Jazeera that for the people of Kashmir, the G20 meeting “would have meant something had there been a normal situation over here”.