India hints at Pakistan role in Afghanistan terror at United Nations
The Economic Times, Jun 27, 2018
In a veiled reference to Pakistan, India has said the problem of
terrorism in Afghanistan is not a local one and attacks inside the country are launched
from safe havens in its neighbourhood that has sheltered Taliban leaders and supported
the "dark agendas" of terror outfits like the LeT and JeM.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin during a
debate at the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan said yesterday that the
spring offensive from the Taliban had taken many lives despite the much-appreciated
peace offer from the Afghan Government.
"Such offensives are planned and launched from safe havens in the neighbourhood of
Afghanistan," he said.
While not naming Pakistan, Akbaruddin said those supporting the terrorists targeting
Afghanistan have not been deterred.
"Notwithstanding the efforts made by the international community, there are still those who
provide sanctuaries to support the dark agendas of terrorist organizations like the Taliban,
the Haqqani Network, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
"The same safe havens that sheltered Mullah Omar also sheltered Osama bin Laden. Lest we forget, the terrorism problem in
Afghanistan is not a local one," he said.
Akbaruddin asserted that it should not take a "catastrophe" again to remind the international community that Afghanistan requires strong
and steady international support in elimination of what is a threat to global peace and security.
He noted that the focus of the international community in Afghanistan has been unremitting from the start of this year.
Akbaruddin, however, added that "sadly", the markers of progress on fundamental concerns about the situation strike a sombre note -
"whether it is in terms of the suffering of the ordinary people of Afghanistan, the senseless orgy of heinous killings by terrorists, or the
displacement of a conflict-weary people."
Akbaruddin voiced concern over the Taliban's involvement in virtually all aspects of the opium trade, suggesting that it's not a mere
political or terrorism problem but one of the organised crimes. He underscored the need for the Council to tackle linkages between
extremism, terrorism, drug production and illegal exploitation of natural resources of Afghanistan.
"It is time that this Council looks at options to better utilise the range of tools available to it to deal with these trans-national networks of
drugs, terrorism and crime," he said.
He highlighted India's support as a development partner of Afghanistan in areas of connectivity, improving trade and investment
relations, noting the significant developments in recent months on connectivity.
He cited the example of the Chabahar port and as well as the India-Afghanistan Air Freight Corridor, which has gained momentum in the
first year of its operation.
Cargo flights between Kabul, Kandahar, New Delhi and Mumbai have so far carried over 2,000 tonnes of exports from Afghanistan to
India worth over tens of millions of dollars.
"Encouraged by this, we have plans to expand the air freight corridor network to various other cities in Afghanistan and India," he said.
Akbaruddin also lauded the rise of Afghanistan's cricket team, qualifying for the next Cricket World Cup and making their debut as a test
cricket playing nation earlier this month against India. He expressed optimism over the prospect of India's national cricket team playing
on the Afghan soil in the future.
Comments
Post a Comment