Afghanistan Crisis: UNSC Drops Taliban Reference From Statement On Terror Activities

The statement, issued by India’s Permanent Representative at the UN, T.S. Tirumurti, on behalf of the UNSC called upon the Afghan groups not to support terrorists operating on their territory.

T.S. Tirumurti (Image Source: Twitter/@ambtstirumurti)

New Delhi: Condemning the “deplorable attacks” near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport earlier on August 26, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has dropped the reference to the Taliban in a recurring paragraph in its statements on Afghanistan.

The statement, issued by India’s Permanent Representative at the UN, T.S. Tirumurti, on behalf of the UNSC called upon the Afghan groups not to support terrorists operating on their territory.

READ: Former Afghan Envoy Accuses Pakistan Of Giving Birth To Taliban For Countering India

“The members of the Security Council reiterated the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan to ensure the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any country, and that no Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any country,” the statement issued on August 27 read.

The paragraph, however, dropped the reference to the Taliban, which was there in the UNSC's statement issued earlier on August 16.

“The members of the Security Council reaffirmed the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan to ensure the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any country, and that neither the Taliban nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country,” the UNSC’s statement had read.

Over 170 people were killed and at least 200 others wounded in the attacks, which were claimed by Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), an entity affiliated with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh).

India’s former permanent representative at the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, pointed this out on Twitter.

“In diplomacy…A fortnight is a long time…The ‘T’ word is gone…Compare the marked portions of @UN Security Council statements issued on 16 August  & on 27 August…,” he tweeted.

The marked change in the UNSC statements comes as the Taliban reportedly aided the ongoing evacuation process in Afghanistan, allowing the people of other nations and Afghans to leave the country.