By Arpita Ghosh

Copyright timesnownews

India on Wednesday called on the international community to prevent Pakistan-based terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed from using Afghanistan’s territory for their operations. “India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, told the UN Security Council during a discussion on the country. “The international community must coordinate efforts towards ensuring that entities and individuals designated by the UN Security Council, ISIL and Al Qaeda and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, along with those who facilitate their operations, no longer exploit the Afghan territory for terrorist activities,” he said, in a clear reference to Pakistan. Harish said India and Afghanistan share a deep civilizational relationship, and New Delhi has a “paramount interest” in seeing peace and stability return to the war-torn nation. He stressed the need for international and regional cooperation on Afghanistan. “We believe in the utmost importance of international and regional consensus and cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan and actively engage with all relevant parties to promote peace, stability and development in the country. Our participation in UN meetings in Doha and other regional forums reflects our efforts,” he said. The envoy noted that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken twice with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. He also welcomed Kabul’s strong condemnation of the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Harish told the Council that Afghanistan’s recovery requires a mix of incentives and pressure. “Focusing only on punitive measures is unlikely to meet desired results. The United Nations and the international community has adopted more nuanced approaches in other post-conflict contexts. Afghanistan needs a fresh approach with hitherto unused policy instruments to support its people who are in such dire need,” he said. He warned against a “business as usual” approach, saying it would only preserve the status quo and fail to meet the Afghan people’s expectations. “After more than four years of living under a sanctioned regime, the Afghan people have not seen much scope for enhanced development assistance and cooperation,” he added. Pointing to last month’s devastating earthquake, Harish urged compassion for Afghans struggling with poverty, hunger and disease. India, he noted, was among the first to deliver emergency aid, sending 1,000 family tents and 15 tons of food supplies. Another 21 tons of relief materials, including medicines, hygiene kits, blankets and generators, followed, with more shipments planned. Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, India has supplied Afghanistan with about 50,000 tons of wheat, 330 tons of medicines and vaccines, 40,000 liters of pesticides and other essentials. In partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, it has also provided 84 tons of assistance and 32 tons of support items for drug rehabilitation programs, especially for women. Harish said India remains firmly committed to Afghanistan’s development needs, adding commitment to meeting the developmental needs of the Afghan people is “non-negotiable”. Harish said New Delhi’s immediate priorities in Afghanistan include humanitarian aid and capacity-building initiatives. He pointed to more than 500 development projects that India has carried out across all Afghan provinces. India will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders and broadly support the international community’s efforts towards a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan, he said. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.