‘Afghan-led, Afghan-owned & Afghan-controlled inclusive peace’! India reiterates its support to age-old friend in UN

United Nations, Jun 20: India and Afghanistan are an old-age friend. India is not just politically linked with Afghanistan but also culturally, socially and economically too. India supports Afghanistan in development and peace-building. Now, taking this commitment further, India supported Afghanistan for inclusive peace in the United Nations.

 

 

India’s Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin is speaking at ‘open debate on the situation in Afghanistan’ at UNSC on Wednesday.

 

He said, “While Afghanistan gears up to have its fourth Presidential elections later this year, all of us need to be mindful of the gains that the Afghan people have made in the last 18 years”.

 

The war-torn nation is scheduled to undergo three elections- Presidential, Provincial Councils and the Ghazni Parliamentary elections- simultaneously on Sept. 28.

 

Afghanistan is suffering from unstable political, social and security situations due to the activities of the various terrorist organization including the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS).

 

Akbaruddin expressed, They have strengthened democracy in their country; established a constitutional order; uplifted the status of women; protected the status of minorities and youth; built a strong army and sturdy security forces; created stronger regional links.

 

 

 

 

He also added, While there may be perceptions of threats of transnational terrorism from Afghanistan, in reality, it is the Afghan people who have been, for long, victims of transnational terrorism.

 

While addressing the issue of development in Afghanistan, Syed emphasized, “sanctuaries and safe havens provided to ‘these terror networks need to be addressed for genuine and sustainable peace in the region’.

 

 

He said, The terrorist activities of the Taliban, Haqqani Network, Da'esh, as well as Al Qaeda and its proscribed affiliates, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, need to end. 

Further, he stated, “As the way forward is chalked out, we cannot ignore that groups enjoying the support and safe havens carry out violent and terrorist activities from across borders. They cannot be allowed to negotiate from a place of advantage”.

 

While concluding his remarks, Syed Akbaruddin said, “The concluding communique of the Loya Jirga, convened by President Ghani on April 29, 2019, called amongst other things for a ceasefire, talks without preconditions, a Taliban office to be opened in Afghanistan, a responsible withdrawal of international forces, the formation of an inclusive negotiating team, continued support from the international community, and the preservation of human rights, particularly women’s rights”.

 

He added, These provisions, agreed to by the Afghan people, have been long-standing and are supported strongly by several countries in the region.