Pakistan rebukes India, Afghan envoys at UNSC over cross-border militancy claims

Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, sharply criticised remarks by the Afghan and Indian representatives during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan, accusing them of ignoring the threat of cross-border militancy targeting Pakistan.

Speaking during the council’s session on Monday, Naseer Ahmad Faiq, the chargé d’affaires ad interim of Afghanistan’s permanent mission to the United Nations, referred to civilian casualties in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and stressed the importance of combating terrorism.

However, Faiq made no mention of Al-Qaeda or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said he had been “compelled to take the floor again” after listening to statements from the Afghan and Indian delegations.

Referring to the Afghan representative, he said the “so-called representative of Afghanistan… does not represent anyone but himself” and should not “abuse this forum to pursue his personal agenda”.

Afghanistan’s de facto authorities, the Taliban, are not represented at the UN and do not recognise Faiq.

The envoy added that the diplomat, who he said was “sequestered in New York”, was “completely cut off from ground realities” and had selectively commented on developments while criticising Pakistan.

“Pakistan’s legitimate counter-terrorism operations are not directed against the brotherly people of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the actions were intended “to neutralise the persistent threat of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil” and were carried out in line with the right to self-defence and international humanitarian law.

He said the Afghan representative had failed to address attacks carried out from Afghan territory that had caused casualties among Pakistani civilians, security forces and infrastructure.

Turning to India, Ahmad said the comments made by the Indian representative were “no surprise”, accusing India of pursuing a policy aimed at destabilising Pakistan.

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Earlier, India’s Permanent Representative Parvathaneni Harish, according to his post on X, also gave a speech at the UNSC meeting. The envoy said India “strongly condemns airstrikes which are flagrant violations of international law, the UN Charter and state sovereignty”, adding that it was “hypocritical to espouse high principles of international law and Islamic solidarity while mercilessly carrying out airstrikes during the holy month of Ramazan”.

He also raised concerns about what he described as “trade and transit terrorism”, warning that vulnerabilities faced by landlocked developing countries should not be exploited.

On counter-terrorism, the representative called for coordinated global action against militant organisations operating in the region. He said groups such as Islamic State (ISIL), Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, along with their affiliates and facilitators, must be prevented from carrying out cross-border attacks.

Asim, in his speech, has countered, alleging that India supported militant groups operating from Afghan territory, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

“We have provided irrefutable evidence of India’s collusion with terrorist groups that are engaged in orchestrating violent attacks against Pakistan,” he told the council.

Ahmad also criticised India for what he described as violations of international law and accused it of carrying out repression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Despite the criticism, the Pakistani envoy said Islamabad remained committed to promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He added, however, that these objectives required the country’s current rulers — the Taliban — to fulfil commitments on counter-terrorism, inclusive governance and the protection of the rights of Afghan women and girls.

“While India has long played this dangerous game, we will not allow their sabotage and subversion from Afghan soil to nourish and harm Pakistan,” Ahmad concluded.