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

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, sharply criticized remarks made by the Afghan and Indian representatives during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, accusing them of ignoring the threat of cross-border militancy targeting Pakistan.

Naseer Ahmad Faiq, chargé d’affaires ad interim of Afghanistan’s permanent mission to the United Nations, spoke during the council’s meeting on Monday, to civilian victims in the tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and stressed the importance of fighting terrorism.

However, Faiq did not mention Al-Qaeda or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said he had been “forced to speak 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 recognize Faiq.

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

“Pakistan’s legitimate counter-terrorism operations are not directed at the brotherly people of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the actions were intended “to neutralize the persistent threat of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil” and were carried out in accordance with the right of self-defense 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.

Regarding India, Ahmad said the comments by the Indian representative were “no surprise”, accusing India of pursuing a policy aimed at destabilizing Pakistan.

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Earlier, India’s Permanent Representative Parvathaneni Harish, according to his post on X, also addressed the UN Security Council 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” and warned that vulnerabilities faced by landlocked developing countries should not be exploited.

On counter-terrorism, the representative called for a coordinated global effort against militant organizations operating in the region. He said groups such as the 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.

In his speech, Asim has countered and claimed that India was supporting militant groups operating from Afghan territory, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

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

Ahmad also criticized India for what he described as violations of international law, accusing it of carrying out repression in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

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

However, he added that these goals required the country’s current rulers – the Taliban – to fulfill commitments on counter-terrorism, including governance and protecting the rights of Afghan women and girls.

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