NEW DELHI: India has called on the UN Security Council to “speak unequivocally” against violence and terrorist forces and “act against terrorist sanctuaries and havens.”
Speaking at the Security Council on the Afghan peace process, India’s permanent representative to the UN TS Tirumurti said: “For lasting peace in Afghanistan, we have to put an end to terrorist havens and sanctuaries operating through the Durand Line. The report from the Al Qaeda / Daesh Sanctions Committee’s Sanctions Monitoring and Analytical Support Team also highlighted the presence of foreign fighters in Afghanistan. For the violence to end in Afghanistan, these terrorist supply chains must be broken. ” .
He also called for an immediate and complete ceasefire in Afghanistan. For the peace process to move forward, India made four suggestions: First, that “the peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled. Solutions must come from the Afghans themselves.” .
Second, Tirumurti said, there must be “zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.” With a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan, he said: “Afghanistan can be successful only when terrorism no longer flows through the Durand Line. Terror and violence cannot be the instrument to shape the future of Afghanistan or dictate the decisions that take the Afghans. It is important to ensure that no one provides refuge for terrorists who threaten Afghanistan or any other country in the region. ”
India also made a passionate claim that the “achievements” of the past two decades should not be lost. In other words, India is warning the world not to leave Afghanistan in a place that could see the Taliban invade Kabul and take the reins of power with the help of Pakistan. With their regressive mindset, the progress made in recent years, especially among women, could be lost. “India is convinced that women’s rights must be vigorously protected,” Tirumurti said.
Addressing the problems facing Afghanistan due to its landlocked situation and the restrictions imposed by Pakistan, India demanded that Afghanistan should obtain “full transit rights” and that other states could not use it to extract political advantage. “The international community must discourage medieval mentalities and work to remove the artificial transit barriers imposed on Afghanistan. It must ensure that all transit rights guaranteed to Afghanistan under bilateral and multilateral transit agreements operate without hindrance,” he said.
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