The UN Security Council on Monday called for the establishment through inclusive negotiations of a new, united, inclusive and representative government in Afghanistan with full women participation as it reaffirmed the need to ensure that the Taliban or any other Afghan group should not support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country.
The 15-nation Council held an emergency meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban took control, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, and chaos, uncertainty and tragedy unfolded on the streets and at the airport as thousands tried to flee the ravaged nation. The Council meeting on Afghanistan was the second in just over 10 days, held under India’s current Presidency of the powerful UN body. After the meeting, Council members, in a statement, called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and “the establishment, through inclusive negotiations, of a new government that is united, inclusive and representative, including with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday slammed India for its “partisan and obstructionist actions” after Pakistan was denied the opportunity to address a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Afghanistan for the second time this month. China also on Monday protested after Pakistan was not allowed to participate in a discussion during a special session of the UNSC on the situation in Afghanistan. India, currently a non-permanent member of the UNSC, chaired the session, as it holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month. India, the UNSC president for the current month, had earlier denied Pakistan the opportunity to speak during the council’s meeting on August 6.
