India has lodged a strong protest with the UK to stop the hosting of a Pakistan-backed conference on Kashmir which is to be held inside the British parliament in London on February 4.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar in a weekly briefing on Thursday said that India had taken up the matter with the United Kingdom and "expected" the British government to address India's concerns.

"We have taken it up with the UK very strongly. We hope that they will understand our objections to the proposed conference and take appropriate action," said Raveesh Kumar.

The meeting being organised at the House of Commons of the "All Party Parliamentary Group on Pakistan" (APPG-Pakistan) would include Conservative and Labour Party MPs. This would be followed by an exhibition in London to "highlight the centrality of Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the grave human rights violations against the Kashmiri people, by India, which are being widely condemned and need to be immediately stopped," read a statement by Pakistan's Foreign Office.

UK has said that it will not interfere in the matter. The British High Commission Spokesperson in New Delhi said, "UK Members of Parliament are independent of government; it is for individual members to decide who they meet and for what purpose."

India said that the UK was aware about India's sensitivities in the matter. "As a friendly country and as a strategic partner, we hope that the government of United Kingdom will address our concerns which we have explained to them on the proposed conference," said Kumar.

The spokes person said that this exposes Pakistan's "duplicity". "No doubt that this again exposes Pakistan's duplicity when they talk about peace at one hand and at the same time working together with forces which are pushing or formenting anti India sentiments", said Raveesh Kumar.

Pakistani Foreign Minister is likely to be in London for these events and India is hoping that he would not get the welcome by Britain that he is expecting.

The BHC spokesperson said, "We understand Mr Qureshi is travelling to London to attend a number of private events. There are no plans for meetings with the UK Government during this visit."

Late Wednesday night (10:30pm), Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood and issued a strong demarche calling the "brazen" act by Pakistan an attempt to "subvert India's unity and territorial integrity" and underscored that it confirms that Pakistan "officially abets and encourages individuals associated with terrorism and anti-India activities", said an MEA statement.

In response to India's reaction, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria on Thursday morning to strongly protest against the Indian press release related to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's telephone call to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

Pakistan is relating it to domestic politics and upcoming elections in India. "Foreign Secretary emphasized that the Indian reaction was only an indication of domestic politics being allowed to override India's international obligations and violate international law for electioneering and that Pakistan should not be dragged into Indian elections for seeking votes", said a statement from Pakistan Foreign Office.

The statement added that the "disputed status of Jammu & Kashmir is internationally accepted and pends resolution on the agenda of the UN Security Council to date due to Indian intransigence."

The British, for now, are trying to keep out of this diplomatic war that has found its way to London. "The UK's longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the Kashmiri people's wishes", said BHC spokesperson.

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