India raises voice against terrorism in UN; urges international community not to remain silent

New York, September 26: Taking a dig at Pakistan indirectly, India on Monday raised its voice against terrorism and said that the international community cannot remain silent and asserted its zero tolerance against terrorist safe havens.

 

Notably, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin in an open debate of the UN Security Council on Afghanistan said, “The international community cannot remain silent. It is the international community's first and foremost duty to ensure that the forces of terrorism and extremism do not find sanctuaries and safe havens anywhere and at any level."

Syed Akbaruddin urged international community of not differentiating between good and bad terrorists. He said we must not differentiate between good and bad terrorists, or play one group against the other. “The Taliban, Haqqani Network, al-Qaida, Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and others of their ilk are all terror organizations, many of them prescribed by the UN," Syed Akbaruddin added.

The Indian Ambassador also said that these terrorist groups should be treated like terrorist organizations with no justifications offered for their activities. Further asserting that the situation in Afghanistan has remained painful and disturbing with security worsening, Syed Akbaruddin said that the incessant attacks on hospitals, schools, funerals, or international development agencies, diplomatic missions are a matter of serious concern.

"The multiple crises that have been inflicted on Afghanistan have made Afghan territory attractive for criminal and terrorist groups, who are well connected to international terror and crime networks. "These groups are stealing the resources of Afghanistan which ought to belong to the people of the country," he added.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani joined Akbaruddin in identifying terrorist safe havens across the border. "The scourge of terrorism and violent extremism affecting Afghanistan is the product of a long-standing policy by a neighboring state to keep Afghanistan unstable," he said.

Earlier, in the United Nations General Assembly, Indian diplomats including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has exposed Pakistan of exporting terrorism in many parts of South Asia.