After India, Afghanistan slams Pakistan over decades-long terrorism

Afghan foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani said that Afghanistan has been suffering due to the terrorism and extremism exported by neighbouring Pakistan across the border for decades.

"Despite being on the receiving-end of provocative actions, including continuous violations across the Durand Line, Afghanistan has maintained a principled position in seeking to resolve differences through dialogue, diplomacy, and peaceful means. This is particularly true in the case of our relations with Pakistan, which unfortunately has so far failed to respond positively,'' Afghanistan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said during the Security Council debate on the 'Situation in Afghanistan.'

Afghan Minister called on the international community to avoid looking Afghanistan "through the prism of civil war," but instead start looking at it through another factual situation that exists. "The scourge of terrorism and violent extremism affecting Afghanistan is the product of a long-standing policy by a neighboring State to keep Afghanistan unstable. It has menaced Afghanistan for several decades now, with its roots located in terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens outside of my country," Rabbani added.

Rabbani said, "We presented Pakistan with yet another opportunity to engage in comprehensive State-to-State discourse on peace, security and prosperity. We hope - this time around - we will see a constructive engagement instead of plausible deniability and attempts to change narrative. An opportunity, even if embraced late, is nevertheless better than one lost. There are various existing initiatives in which productive talks could take place."

Elaborating on the security situation, Rabbani said, "Our security forces are engaged in a comprehensive fight against elements of more than 20 internationally recognized terrorist groups. Thanks to the dedicated support of our international partners, our security forces,the Taliban suffer major setbacks in manpower and morale and fail to hold ground over any territory. This is why their "modus-operandi" draws mainly on suicide bombings and other unconventional criminal attacks on our people, infrastructure, public figures, mosques and international humanitarian personnel."

Urging all the UN member States to support Afghanistan's membership in the Human Rights Council, Rabbani said, "The membership will have many benefits: it will enable us to consolidate human rights gains at home. It will also enable us to be a voice for victims of terrorism and the dozens of countries that are in conflict and post-conflict situations."

The Afghan minister concluded by appreciating the Security Council and the international community for all their efforts in supporting Afghanistan's security and stability. 

-ANI