India has informed the United Nations that it continues to closely monitor the security situation in Afghanistan. She also condemned the recent airstrikes and killing of innocent women, children and even cricketers in a veiled reference to Pakistan.
Addressing the UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday, Ambassador Parvathaneni said India calls on the UN and the international community to adopt nuanced policy instruments that will help bring sustainable benefits to the people of Afghanistan.
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Harish emphasized that the international community must coordinate efforts to ensure that entities and individuals designated by the UN Security Council – the so-called ISIL and Al Qaeda and their affiliates, including Lashkar e Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and LeT proxies such as the Resistance Front, along with those who facilitate their operations – no longer indulge in cross-border terrorism, a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan.
“We also note with grave concern the practices of ‘trade and transit terrorism’ that the people of Afghanistan are subjected to by cynically closing access to a landlocked country whose people have been suffering from numerous debilitating conditions for many years,” Harish said. United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
“These actions are contrary to WTO (World Trade Organization) norms. Such open threats and acts of war against a fragile and vulnerable LLDC (Land-Locked Developing countries) nation struggling to rebuild under difficult circumstances are a clear violation of the UN Charter and international law.”
“While we condemn such acts, we also strongly support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan,” he said. Harish said that over the years, India has been a strong supporter of peace and stability in Afghanistan.
At least three Afghan cricketers have been killed in an alleged Pakistani airstrike in the country’s Paktika province. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said the players had traveled from Urgun to Sharana in eastern Paktika province near the Pakistan border to take part in a friendly match.
“Coordinated regional and international cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan is paramount, as is the strong engagement of relevant parties in promoting peace, stability and development in the country,” he said.
Harish added that providing humanitarian assistance and building the capacity of the Afghan people have always remained India’s priorities. India already has more than 500 development partnership projects in all provinces, Harish said.
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India told the UN Security Council it was calling for “pragmatic engagement” with the Taliban, as Delhi stressed that a focus only on punitive measures would ensure a “business as usual” approach.
Harish said India calls on the United Nations and the international community to adopt nuanced policy instruments that will help bring sustainable benefits to the people of Afghanistan.
“India demands a pragmatic negotiations with the Taliban. A coherent engagement policy should encourage positive action. Focusing only on punitive measures will only ensure that the ‘business as usual’ approach continues as we have been witnessing for the past four and a half years now,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish.
“India’s Commitment to Meet Development Needs”
Harish reiterated India’s commitment to meeting the developmental needs of the Afghan people. Harish said the Indian government’s recent decision to restore the status of Delhi’s technical mission in Kabul to that of an embassy “underlines that decision”.
“We will continue to work with all stakeholders to increase our contribution to Afghanistan’s comprehensive development, humanitarian assistance and capacity-building initiatives in line with the priorities and aspirations of Afghan society,” he said.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was in New Delhi on a six-day visit in October, the first senior Taliban minister to visit India since the group seized power in Kabul in 2021.
Minister of Foreign Affairs With Jaishankar held extensive talks with Muttaqi, announced the elevation of Delhi’s technical mission in Kabul to an embassy, and pledged to resume its development work in Afghanistan.
India withdrew its officials from its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took power in August 2021.
In June 2022, India re-established its diplomatic presence in the Afghan capital by deploying a “technical team”.
Coordinated regional and international cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan is paramount.
“We will continue to work with UN agencies in critical areas such as health, food security, education and sports,” Harish said.
