Inclusive set-up will help region stability, says India at UNHRC

A broad-based representation would help the arrangement gain more acceptability and legitimacy... INDRAMANI PANDEY, India’s permanent representative to the UN

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday called for an inclusive and broad-based arrangement in Afghanistan that represents all sections of society, and asserted that Afghan soil must not be used by terror groups such as Lashkar-e-taiba (LET) and Jaishe-mohammed (JEM) to threaten any country.

New Delhi’s position was outlined by Indramani Pandey, India’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, while addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Afghanistan.

India has been watching the security situation in the war-torn country with growing concern following the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government, and the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban on August 15. It has insisted that any future set-up in Kabul must be inclusive and preserve the gains of the past two decades in order to ensure legitimacy.

In his statement at the UNHRC session, Pandey said India hopes “there is an inclusive and broad-based dispensation which represents all sections of Afghan society”. He added: “Voices of Afghan women, aspirations of Afghan children and the rights of minorities must be respected. A broad-based representation would help the arrangement gain more acceptability and legitimacy.”

As with all recent official statements from the Indian side following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, there was no criticism of or direct reference to the militant group in Pandey’s statement. However, he pointedly raised India’s concerns related to the “precarious” security situation in Afghanistan.

“Stability in Afghanistan is linked to the peace and security of the region. We hope that the situation in Afghanistan does not pose a challenge to its neighbours and its territory is not used by terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-taiba and Jaish-e-mohammed to threaten any other country,” Pandey said.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet told the session the rapid seizure of the country by the Taliban has “raised grave fears of a return to past patterns of human rights violations, and stoked desperation among many Afghans”.

She warned there were reports of summary executions of civilians and “hors de combat members of the Afghan national security forces”, restrictions on rights of women and recruitment of child soldiers.

“I strongly urge the Taliban to adopt norms of responsive governance and human rights, and to work to re-establish social cohesion and reconciliation,” she added.

Pandey also said the world community must provide full support to the Afghan people’s desire for peace, stability and security, and enable women, children and minorities to live in peace and dignity.