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Addressing the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday (December 9), Harish said India calls on the UN and the international community to adopt micro policy instruments that help bring lasting benefits for the people of Afghanistan.
Ambassador Parvathneni Harish, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said, “India calls for pragmatic engagement with the Taliban. A coherent policy of engagement should encourage positive actions. Focusing only on punitive measures will ensure that the ‘business as usual’ approach continues as we have been seeing for the last four and a half years.”
He reiterated India’s commitment to meet the development needs of the people of Afghanistan.
Harish said the recent decision by the Indian government to restore the status of Delhi’s technical mission in Kabul to an embassy “underscores this resolve.” “We will continue our partnership with all stakeholders to enhance our contribution to Afghanistan’s broader development, humanitarian assistance and capacity building initiatives, taking into account the priorities and aspirations of Afghan society,” he said.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki 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.
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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Muttaki, announced embassy status to Delhi’s technical mission in Kabul and promised to renew its development work in Afghanistan.
India had withdrawn its officials from its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
In June 2022, India reestablished its diplomatic presence in the Afghan capital by deploying a “technical team”.
Harish said, India is keeping a close watch on the security situation in Afghanistan.
He stressed that the international community must coordinate efforts to ensure that UN Security Council-designated entities and individuals – including ISIL and al Qaeda and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and representatives of LeT such as the Resistance Front, as well as those promoting their operations – are no longer engaged in cross-border terrorism, a veiled reference to Pakistan.
India reiterated the concern of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) over the air strikes and condemned the killing of innocent women, children and cricketers in Afghanistan.
“We also note with grave concern the practice of ‘trade and transit terrorism’ that the people of Afghanistan are facing due to the closure of access to a landlocked country where their people have lived in debilitating conditions for many years,” Harish said.
“These acts are a violation of WTO (World Trade Organisation) norms. Such open threats and acts of war against a fragile and vulnerable LLDC (Land-Locked Developing Countries) nation, trying to rebuild under difficult circumstances, is a gross 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 India has been a strong supporter of peace and stability in Afghanistan for years.
“Coordinated regional and international cooperation on key issues related to Afghanistan is paramount, as well as strongly engaging relevant parties to promote peace, stability and development in the country,” he said.
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Harish said the provision of humanitarian assistance and building the capacity of the Afghan people have always been India’s priorities. There are already more than 500 development partnership projects across all provinces of India, Harish said.
As decided during Muttaki’s recent visit to India, Delhi will further deepen its participation in development cooperation projects, especially in the areas of health care, public infrastructure and capacity building.
“We will continue to work with UN agencies in critical areas such as health, food security, education and sports,” Harish said.
The Indian envoy said the visit of Afghan Industry and Commerce Minister Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi to India helped in taking forward cooperation on connectivity, trade facilitation and market access.
Azizi visited India with a trade delegation from 19 to 25 November.