By ANI
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New York: India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, reaffirmed India’s commitment to promoting peace, stability and development in Afghanistan during the UN Security Council’s quarterly briefing on the country. Ambassador Parvathaneni highlighted India’s immediate priorities of providing humanitarian assistance and implementing capacity-building initiatives for the Afghan people. He stressed the importance of international and regional consensus on Afghanistan and reiterated India’s support for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Expressing gratitude to UN Special Representative Roza Otunbayeva, he recalled India’s prompt relief efforts after the September 1 earthquake that killed over 2,000 people. India provided 1,000 family tents, 15 tons of food, and later dispatched 21 tons of medicines, hygiene kits, blankets, and generators. He also underscored India’s long-term support, citing partnerships with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, drug rehabilitation programmes for women, and scholarships for 2,000 Afghan students, including 600 girls. Calling for coordinated global efforts against terrorism, Parvathaneni urged that groups like ISIL, Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed must not be allowed to exploit Afghan territory. He welcomed Afghanistan’s condemnation of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack. Finally, he stressed that Afghanistan needs a “fresh approach” with new policy instruments, warning that a “business as usual” strategy would only maintain the status quo and fail the Afghan people.
