United Nations: India has urged the global community to ensure that UN-designated terror groups, including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), along with their facilitators, are prevented from exploiting Afghan territory for terrorist activities.
“India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.
Calling for coordinated international efforts, Harish stressed that entities listed by the UN Security Council—such as ISIL, Al-Qaeda, LeT, and JeM—must not be allowed to operate from Afghan soil.
Reaffirming India’s “civilisational relationship” with Afghanistan, he said New Delhi has a paramount interest in the country’s peace and stability. India, he noted, has consistently engaged through UN and regional platforms, including the Doha meetings, to support Afghanistan’s development and security.
Harish informed the Council that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had twice spoken with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and welcomed Kabul’s strong condemnation of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack.
He stressed that policies for post-conflict Afghanistan must balance incentives for constructive behaviour with measures discouraging harmful actions, instead of relying solely on punitive steps. “Afghanistan needs a fresh approach with new policy instruments,” he said, warning that a “business as usual” stance would only prolong the status quo.
Citing the plight of Afghans living under poverty, disease, and hunger, Harish highlighted India’s humanitarian support following last month’s earthquake, including 1,000 family tents, 15 tonnes of food, and an additional 21 tonnes of medicines, hygiene kits, blankets, and generators.
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, India has supplied nearly 50,000 tonnes of wheat, over 330 tonnes of medicines and vaccines, 40,000 litres of pesticides, and other essentials. It has also partnered with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to provide over 100 tonnes of support items for drug rehabilitation programmes, particularly for women.
Underscoring that India’s commitment to Afghanistan’s development is “non-negotiable,” Harish pointed to over 500 development partnership projects across Afghan provinces. He assured that New Delhi will continue working with stakeholders and the international community towards a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan.
