New Delhi: Taking a dig at Pakistan, India on Wednesday said that it expects Afghanistan's territory should not be used for sheltering, training or financing of terror acts, specifically terrorist individuals and entities proscribed by the UN Security Council.
While Speaking at United Nations Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, India's permanent representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said, “we expect that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used for sheltering, training, planning, or financing terrorist acts, specifically terrorist individuals and entities proscribed by the UN Security Council. It also means acting against drug trafficking," PTI reported.
Speaking about Afghanistan's safety and security, Kamboj said, "Peace and stability in Afghanistan are critical imperatives that all of us also need to collectively strive for. India will continue to play its constructive role in the pursuit of this objective. The interests of the Afghan people will always continue to be at the core of all our efforts,” she said.
Talking about Afghanistan's situation, Kamboj stated that the humanitarian situation in the country is "deeply distressing" and also informed UNSC about the humanitarian assistance that India has provided to Afghanistan in the past year.
"In response to the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, and in response to the urgent appeals made by the United Nations, india has dispatched several shipments of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. We are committed to continuing our help to the Afghan people going forward. In this regard, we have provided several shipments of humanitarian assistance, including 40,000 metric tons of wheat, 65 tons of medical aid, and 28 tonnes of other relief material. Recently, we also sent around 5000 units of stationery items and winter clothing for the primary school students of the Habiba School in Kabul," she said.
"In addition, we are also partnering with the UNODC for the welfare and rehabilitation of the drug user population in Afghanistan, especially among Afghan women. For the same, we have assisted UNODC by supplying medical aid, blankets and female hygiene kits as per requirement," she added.
India also voiced concern about increasing attempts towards removing women from public life in Afghanistan and called for women and minorities to be included in Afghanistan’s future and for their rights to be fully respected.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and head of UNAMA told the Council that “Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women’s rights, and it has been distressing to witness their methodical, deliberate, and systematic efforts to push Afghan women and girls out of the public sphere.” “Confining half of the country’s population to their homes in one of the world’s largest humanitarian and economic crises is a colossal act of national self-harm. It will condemn not only women and girls, but all Afghans, to poverty and aid-dependency for generations to come. It will further isolate Afghanistan from its own citizens and from the rest of the world,” Otunbayeva said.
(With inputs from agencies)