India has called upon the global community to ensure that organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and others do not exploit Afghan soil.
"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 also welcomed “the strong condemnation” of the Pahalgam terrorist attack carried out by LeT affiliate, The Resistance Front, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians targeted based on their religion.
Previously, Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, speaking at the Council to present on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), pointed out that the role of "extremist groups" persists to test Afghanistan despite a "notable decrease in large-scale armed conflict and violence.
The Taliban, who took over Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American troops in 2021, is not recognized by the UN—termed the "de facto authorities"—or by the majority of nations, including India.
Harish emphasized that a fresh approach towards Afghanistan was necessary.
“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 highlighted that the UN and the world community "have taken more sophisticated approaches in other post-conflict environments," and claimed that likewise, "Afghanistan requires a new approach with previously unrelied upon policy tools to assist its people who are in such a desperate need."
Keeping things as they are, he cautioned, "is not good for Afghanistan and not likely to satisfy international community expectations for Afghanistan's people.
Harish had verified that India "will keep engaging with all stakeholders concerned."
Diplomatically, he pointed out that India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has had two meetings with Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Muttaqi had scheduled a visit to New Delhi this month, but this trip was aborted because of UN sanctions restricting his movement.
But, as IANS reports, Deputy Minister for Medicine and Food, Hamdullah Zahid, and a senior Taliban official in charge of security and strategic issues (whose name is not disclosed) recently visited India.
Harish again stated, "I would like to reiterate that our commitment to meeting the developmental needs of the people of Afghanistan is non-negotiable," while pointing towards the humanitarian assistance offered by India.
Speaking from a video link, Otunbayeva added hope that "a pathway can be agreed" for further interaction with Afghanistan, with the goal of achieving more positive developments, in particular, for women and girls in the country.
She observed that the internal factionalization of the de facto authorities saw "different trends competing for dominance… one being more pragmatic and responsive to the interests of Afghan people and the other more intent on the establishment of what is called a 'pure Islamic system'.
The group that supports a strict Islamic system has stepped up curbs on Afghans, especially women, limiting their access to work and education, she said.
Otunbayeva underscored that women were excluded from relief after the recent earthquake and female staff members of the UN were not allowed into 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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