India highlights threats posed by terror groups from Afghanistan at UNSC

India highlighted the threat to regional peace posed by terror groups operating from Afghanistan, including Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Islamic State, and called for stronger action by the Taliban set-up to deliver on counter-terrorism commitments.

There has been a “significant increase” in the presence of the Islamic State-Khorasan Province in Afghanistan and its capacity to carry out attacks, and linkages between groups listed by the UN Security Council such as LeT and JeM “pose a direct threat to the peace and stability of the region”, India’s envoy to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, told a security council meeting on Afghanistan on Monday.

In a reference to the Taliban set-up in Kabul, Kamboj said the recent findings of the 1988 Sanctions Committee’s sanctions monitoring team indicate “that the current authorities need to take much stronger action to fulfill their anti-terrorism commitments”.

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“The linkages between groups listed by the UN Security Council such as the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed as well as provocative statements made by other terrorist groups operating out of Afghanistan pose a direct threat to the peace and stability of the region,” she said.

She added that there has been a “significant increase in the presence of ISIL-K in the country and their capacity to carry out attacks”. The ISIL-K, “with its base reportedly in Afghanistan, continues to issue threats of terrorist attacks on other countries”.

Both Islamic State-Khorasan Province and al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent have issued statements in recent months threatening attacks in India over the issue of controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammed by two former BJP spokespersons.

Kamboj also said a series of attacks on religious places of minority communities, including the recent attack on a Sikh gurdwara in Kabul on June 18 followed by another bomb blast near the same shrine on July 27, is “hugely alarming”.

“We need to see concrete progress in ensuring that such proscribed terrorists, entities, or their aliases do not get any support, tacit or direct, either from Afghan soil or from the terror sanctuaries based in the region,” she said.

Kamboj noted that India was president of the UN Security Council in August last year when UNSC Resolution 2593 was adopted to outline the international community’s expectations regarding the situation in Afghanistan in clear terms.

“These included ensuring that the territory of Afghanistan is not used to launch terrorist attacks against other countries; formation of a truly inclusive and representative government; combating terrorism and drug trafficking; and preserving the rights of women, children, and minorities,” she said.

“The same message has been reiterated in subsequent resolutions, including the most recently adopted Resolution 2626. With these benchmarks in mind, the present situation is indeed one of concern,” she added.

Kamboj said that on the political front, India continues to call for an inclusive dispensation in Afghanistan which represents all sections of Afghan society.

“A broad-based, inclusive, and representative formation is necessary for both domestic and international engagement,” she said.

“We also express our concern at developments in Afghanistan which directly impact the well-being of women and girls,” she added.

Kamboj reiterated that India has direct stakes in ensuring the return of peace and stability in Afghanistan as a contiguous neighbour and long-standing partner of the country. An Indian technical team was deployed at the embassy in Kabul to monitor and coordinate efforts by various stakeholders for effective delivery of humanitarian aid.

She listed the humanitarian assistance provided by India so far, including 32tonnes of medical assistance and more than 40,000tonnes of wheat.