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Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni reiterated India’s support for Afghanistan at the UN, urging global action against terrorism.
The Ambassador stressed the need for collective international action to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorist organizations.
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, reaffirmed New Delhi’s commitment to promoting peace, stability, and development in Afghanistan during the UN Security Council’s quarterly briefing on the neighbouring country.
Speaking at the session, Ambassador Parvathaneni underlined India’s immediate priorities in Afghanistan, which include providing humanitarian aid and implementing capacity-building programs for the Afghan people.
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“We believe in the utmost importance of international and regional consensus and cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan and actively engage with all relevant parties to promote peace, stability and development in the country,” Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni said.
“India’s immediate priorities in Afghanistan include provision of humanitarian assistance and implementation of capacity-building initiatives for the Afghan people,” he added.
The Ambassador also reiterated India’s support for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), thanking Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNAMA, Roza Otunbayeva, for her briefing.
“We value her close cooperation and hope to carry forward the same with UNAMA in the future,” he said.
Parvathaneni also highlighted India’s swift response following the devastating 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Afghanistan on September 1, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths and injuring over 3,640 people, according to Al Jazeera.
“India was among the first countries to provide humanitarian assistance. We immediately delivered 1,000 family tents and 15 tons of food supplies to the affected provinces of Afghanistan. An additional 21 tons of relief materials, including essential medicines, hygiene kits, blankets and generators, were dispatched,” he noted.
He also shared details of India’s long-standing contributions to Afghanistan’s development, particularly in health, education, and rehabilitation.
“In partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, we have provided 84 MTs of assistance and medicines and 32 MTs of social support items for drug rehabilitation programmes, particularly those focused on women. India’s scholarships and fellowships to Afghan students. Since 2023, we have provided scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate courses to 2,000 Afghan students, including nearly 600 girls and women,” Parvathaneni said.
Addressing regional security concerns, the ambassador stressed the need for collective international action to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorist organizations.
“The international community must coordinate efforts towards ensuring that entities and individuals designated by the UN Security Council, the ISIL and Al Qaeda and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, along with those who facilitate their operations, no longer exploit the Afghan territory for terrorist activities, “he said.
He also welcomed the condemnation by the Afghan authorities of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year. “We welcome the strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22, 2025, by the Afghan side,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Parvathaneni called for a more adaptive and responsive strategy for addressing the challenges in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan needs a fresh approach with hitherto unused policy instruments to support its people who are in such a dire need. ‘Business as usual’ approach is only expected to maintain the status quo, which is not good for Afghanistan and unlikely to meet international community expectations for Afghanistan’s people,” he said.
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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
September 18, 2025, 08:07 IST
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