“Taliban continues to enjoy safe haven, logistical support in Pakistan”: Afghanistan’s exposé at UNSC
"Attacks in Afghanistan have been launched with the direct support of more than 10,000 terrorists from groups based in Pakistan"
Afghanistan on Friday, at the United Nations Security Council meeting, directly blamed Pakistan for the Taliban offensive and stated that the group continues to enjoy a “safe haven and logistical support” in the country.
Afghan envoy to the United Nations Ghulam M. Isaczai, speaking at UNSC said, “Taliban continue to enjoy a safe haven in and supply and logistics line extended to their war machine from Pakistan.” There have been “graphic reports and videos of Taliban fighters congregating close to the Durand Line to enter Afghanistan, fund-raising events, transfer of dead bodies for mass burial, and treatment of injured Taliban in Pakistani hospitals”.
He highlighted how this was not only a naked violation of the 1988 UN Security Council Sanctions Regime but was also “leading to further erosion of trust and confidence towards establishing a collaborative relationship with Pakistan to end the war in our country”.
The closed meeting on Afghanistan was the first item on the agenda of the Security Council for Friday which was announced two days after Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar called his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar seeking an emergency session of the UN body to discuss ways to halt the Taliban’s violence and atrocities across Afghanistan.
India, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for August, has consistently called for an immediate cessation of violence and a comprehensive ceasefire while taking steps to advance the intra-Afghan dialogue to find a political settlement.
According to an Indian assessment, supply lines for the Taliban from the Pakistani side continue to be open and the group continues to get logistics and other support from Pakistan’s military establishment. There have been several reports of large caches of ammunition and new weaponry being found at Taliban bases captured by Afghan forces.
Recently, during a briefing for foreign envoys in Kabul, Atmar had also addressed the continuing links between the Taliban and groups such as Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The groups have also been responsible for terror attacks in India in the past.
“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 neighbors and the region are not threatened by terrorism, separatism, and extremism”
Indian Ambassador to the UN T S Tirumurti
To this, Pakistan has issued a statement claiming that as the closest neighbor of Afghanistan its “contribution in the ongoing peace process has been recognized by the international community”.
Last month at the Uzbekistan Connectivity Summit, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had publically slammed Pakistani PM Imran Khan for his country’s support to the group and terror elements that are causing mayhem in Afghanistan.
Giving details of the Taliban offensive in 31 of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, Afghan envoy Ghulam M Isaczai said, “these attacks have been launched with the direct support of more than 10,000 foreign terrorists representing 20 groups including Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, TTP, IMU, ETIM, and ISIL who have entered our country and are fighting alongside the Taliban against our population and security forces.”
