United Nations/Islamabad, Aug 7 (UNI) Afghanistan Ambassador to the UN, Ghulam M Isaczai's statement at the UN Security Council blaming Pakistan for providing the Taliban a safe haven and supply of logistics, on Saturday got the ire of Islamabad.
"In his statement at the UNSC, Afghanistan’s representative propagated disinformation and levelled baseless allegations against Pakistan with a view to mislead the international community," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement.
It further said that Pakistan categorically rejects these accusations and it has repeatedly shared its perspective on peace and stability in clear and unambiguous terms with the international community.
Isaczai, in Friday's briefing on Afghanistan at the UN Security Council, under the presidency of India, had spoken about the dire situation in Afghanistan due to the Taliban onslaught.
He had said the fighting “is not a civil war but a war of criminalized and terrorist networks fought on the back of Afghans”.
Pointing the blame squarely at Pakistan, he had said, "Importantly, the Taliban continue to enjoy a safe haven and supply and logistics line extended to their war machine from Pakistan."
“Graphic reports and videos of Taliban fighters congregating close to the Durand Line to enter Afghanistan, fund-raising events, transfer of dead bodies for mass burial, and treatment of injured Taliban in Pakistani hospitals are emerging and are widely available.”
Isaczai said this was not just a “naked violation of the 1988 UN Security Council Sanctions Regime but also leads to further erosion of trust and confidence towards establishing a collaborative relationship with Pakistan to end the war in our country”.
Meanwhile, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, T.S. Tirumurti, in his briefing on Friday, said that for enduring peace in Afghanistan, terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries in the region must be dismantled immediately and terrorist supply chains disrupted – in an apparent reference to Pakistan.
“There needs to be zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It's equally important to ensure that the territory of Afghanistan is not used by terrorist groups to threaten or attack any other country,” Tirumurti said.
“Those providing material and financial support to terrorist entities must be held accountable. We, as the international community, must ensure that our commitments to Afghanistan, including to its various institutions, are maintained,” the Indian envoy added.
UNI RN JAL 2310