India asks Taliban to sever ties with Al Qaeda & other terrorists
India on Friday urged the UN Security Council to review deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and asserted that for successful peace process it is necessary to ensure that the Taliban “engage in negotiations in good faith, eschew the path of violence, severe ties with the Al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations, and fully commit itself towards reaching a political solution”.Violence and military threat cannot be used to strengthen the negotiating position of any side and a tangible demonstration of this commitment is required, India advised the Taliban amid fears that the group is using violence to capture power and bargain from that position.New Delhi further called for deciding on actions that would help “bring a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and ensure an immediate cessation of violence” and pointed out that anything short of this will constitute a serious threat to regional peace and security.Addressing UNSC Briefing on Afghanistan that was called by India under the aegisNSE -0.66 % of its rotating Presidency in August, PR to New York T S Tirumurti pointed out that as a neighbour of Afghanistan, the current situation prevailing in the country is of great concern to India as the violence shows no sign of abating.Coinciding with the UNSC briefing India hosted Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani, Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister of Qatar for Counter-terrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution. Qahtani met the Joint Secretary (PAI) in MEA J P Singh on Friday and exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan and recent developments in the Afghan peace process. Qatar is playing an important role in Taliban peace talks“…There have been targeted attacks on religious and ethnic minorities, girl students, Afghan security forces, Ulemas, women occupying positions of responsibility, journalists, civil rights activists and the youth. As we saw recently, even the UN compound has not been spared; the residence of the Defence Minister of Afghanistan has been attacked; an Indian journalist was murdered while he was reporting; and the fighting continues in Helmand and Herat,” he said, adding, “…It is, therefore, time for the international community and, in particular, this Council to take stock of the situation, and decide on actions that would help bring a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and ensure an immediate cessation of violence. Anything short of this will constitute a serious threat to regional peace and security.”India has been supportive of all the efforts being made to accelerate the dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban, including the intra-Afghan negotiations, according to Tirumurti.“…Any regime devoid of legitimacy in Afghanistan would find it difficult to garner much needed humanitarian and developmental assistance from the international donor community. We support a leading role for the United Nations and call on the Secretary General to take an initiative towards finding a lasting and durable outcome. We welcome any move towards a genuine political settlement that leads to these objectives,” Tirumurti told UNSC.For enduring peace in Afghanistan, terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries in the region must be dismantled immediately and terrorist supply chains disrupted. It needs to be ensured that Afghanistan’s neighbours and the region are not threatened by terrorism, separatism and extremism, the senior diplomat advised.On India’s part, it will continue to stand with Afghanistan in ensuring that peace and stability is restored through a legitimate and transparent democratic process that is essential for the long-term stability of Afghanistan and the region.
Source : ET
