Pakistan lambasts India at UNSC for sponsoring terrorism from Afghan soil
Says New Delhi playing spoiler role in Afghanistan
New York: Pakistan has strongly lambasted India at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying that New Delhi is involved in sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan from Afghan soil and pursuing a policy aimed at destabilizing the country.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, exchanged strong words with the Indian and Afghan representatives during a heated debate on Afghanistan at the UNSC.
Responding to the statements made by the Indian and Afghan envoys, Ambassador Ahmad said he was compelled to take the floor again, terming India’s remarks as “no surprise”, given India’s “animosity towards Pakistan and the sole objective of its Afghan policy being to destabilise Pakistan”.
He said India was “actively supporting and sponsoring terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil, such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch Liberation Army”. He noted that although India’s representative had spoken at length about the security situation in Afghanistan, mentioning civilian casualties and border clashes, there was no acknowledgement of the “terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan” because of India’s own complicity in the situation.
Ambassador Ahmad said Pakistan had provided “irrefutable evidence of India’s collusion with terrorist groups that are engaged in orchestrating violent attacks against Pakistan”.
“One can sense India’s pain in seeing its heavy investment in the Afghan terrorist franchise going to waste as a result of Pakistan’s precise and effective action against terrorist camps and support bases inside Afghanistan,” he remarked.
The Pakistani envoy described India as “a serial violator of international law” that had illegally occupied territory, violated the UN Charter and UNSC resolutions, perpetrated state terrorism in India-Occupied Kashmir and beyond, systematically marginalised minorities, spread hate, and weaponised water with the express goal of starving Pakistan’s population, and deployed disinformation as a state policy. “And the list goes on,” the envoy added.
Ambassador Ahmad stressed that Pakistan’s “legitimate counter-terrorism operations are not directed against the brotherly people of Afghanistan, and are only meant to neutralise the persistent threat of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil”.
He said Pakistan’s actions were “in full conformity with the right to self-defence and international humanitarian law”.
In his concluding remarks, Ambassador Ahmad said that while India had “always played the role of a spoiler in Afghanistan,” Pakistan had “engaged responsibly in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.”
He added that these goals could only be promoted if “the Taliban regime fulfils its commitments with respect to counter-terrorism, inclusive governance and upholding the rights of Afghan women and girls.”
Ambassador Ahmad urged India to “cease and desist from its policy of stoking terrorism inside Pakistan from Afghan soil, warning Pakistan would not allow any sabotage and subversion from Afghan soil to nourish and harm Pakistan.
