United Nations, Sep 18 India has called on the international community to ensure that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and other terrorist organisations do not exploit Afghanistan's territory.
“India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan,” India’s Permanent Representative P. Harish told the Security Council on Wednesday.
“The international community must coordinate efforts towards ensuring that entities and individuals designated by the UN Security Council, the ISIL (Islamic State group) and Al-Qaeda and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, along with those who facilitate their operations, no longer exploit the Afghan territory for terrorist activities,” he said.
Harish said that India welcomed “the strong condemnation” of the Pahalgam terrorist attack by LeT affiliate, The Resistance Front, which killed 26 civilians based on their religion.
The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, who spoke earlier during the Council discussion on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), warned that the presence of “extremist groups" posed a problem for Afghanistan despite "a notable decline in large-scale armed conflict and violence”.
The Taliban regime, which took over Afghanistan after the US withdrew its troops in 2021, has not been recognised by the UN, which refers to it as the “de facto authorities”, and by most countries, including India.
Harish, however, said a fresh approach was needed towards Afghanistan.
“Any coherent policy to address a post-conflict situation must combine incentivising positive behaviour and disincentivising harmful actions,” he said.
“Focusing only on punitive measures is unlikely to meet desired results,” he said.
He pointed out that the UN and the international community have “adopted more nuanced approaches in other post-conflict contexts”, and added that similarly “Afghanistan needs a fresh approach with hitherto unused policy instruments to support its people who are in such a dire need”.
Maintaining the status quo “is not good for Afghanistan and unlikely to meet international community expectations for Afghanistan’s people,” he added.
He said that India “will continue engaging with all relevant stakeholders”.
On the political front, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken twice with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, he said.
Muttaqi was expected to visit New Delhi this month, but his trip was cancelled because he is under UN sanctions, which restrict his travel.
However, Deputy Medicine and Food Minister Hamdullah Zahid and a top Taliban official handling security and strategic affairs (whose identity could not be disclosed) visited India recently, IANS has revealed.
Harish said, “I would like to reiterate that our commitment to meeting the developmental needs of the people of Afghanistan is non-negotiable".
He listed the various humanitarian aid India has sent to Afghanistan.
Speaking through a video link, Otunbayeva said that she hoped "a pathway can be agreed" for engagement with Afghanistan "to continue and for it to begin yielding more positive results, especially for women and girls in Afghanistan".
She said that there were “different trends vying for influence within the de facto authorities -- one that is more pragmatic and oriented to the needs of Afghan people and the other more focused on the creation of what is described as a ‘pure Islamic system’."
The Islamic system-oriented faction has placed increasing restrictions on the Afghan people, especially women whose education and ability to work have been severely curtailed, she said.
Otunbayeva recounted how women have been denied assistance during the recent earthquake, and women UN employees have been prevented from accessing their offices.
“In view of the lack of pragmatism, members of the international community increasingly ask how much they should support a country whose leaders undermine their population,” she said.
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