India has condemned the Pakistani military airstrikes on Afghanistan, terming them a “blatant assault” on the nation’s “sovereignty”.
Speaking at the UN Assembly, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni expressed concerns over the civilian casualties caused by the attacks and “targeted killings” as described in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reports.
According to the reports, as many as 372 civilians have been killed and 397 injured in the first three months of this year — a majority of them during the month of Ramadan, he noted.
“India would like to emphasize the importance of UNAMA and its mandate and underline our full support to UNAMA in these challenging times as it endeavours to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan. Pakistan, in its statement earlier today, questioned the intent of UNAMA and the veracity of United Nations Secretary-General United Nations Secretary-General’s report. We would like to stress that support for multilateralism and the United Nations is not an à la carte menu, ” Parvathaneni said.
“We support the Secretary General’s call urging compliance with obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and ensuring protection of civilians,” he said, adding that India also supports UNAMA’s earlier calls for a probe to ensure “accountability, prevent recurrence, and uphold victims’ rights”. “Such unconscionable acts of violence are a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a threat to the region’s peace and stability.”
