India’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy ensured there was no official presence of the UK government at an “international conference” on Kashmir in London addressed by Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, people familiar with developments said on Tuesday. The matter was raised with Britain through a demarche or a formal diplomatic correspondence that said London should consider New Delhi’s concerns about the event organised by UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir, the people quoted above said on condition of anonymity. “The British side made it clear Qureshi was travelling to London in a private capacity and there were no plans for meetings with the UK government and that he wasn’t a guest of the government. They clarified the UK’s position on Kashmir hadn’t changed and that it was a bilateral matter to be resolved by India and Pakistan,” said one of these people, a government official. First Published: Feb 05, 2019 23:58 IST

Source: Hindustan Times February 05, 2019 18:28 UTC