India calls for ‘pragmatic engagement' with Taliban, condemns killing of women and children: Envoy tells UNSC

INdia on wed told the UN certificate Council that it calls for a “ pragmatical mesh” with the taleban and that relying only on punitive measures will ensure a “business as usual” approach. It also backed United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s (UNAMA) concerns over Pakistan's airstrikes that led to the killing of innocent women and children.Addressing the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, India’s permanent representative to the UN, ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said, “India calls for a pragmatic engagement with the Taliban. A coherent policy of engagement should incentivise positive actions. A focus on only punitive measures will only ensure that a ‘business as usual’ approach continues as we have been seeing now for the last 4 and a half years.”Reiterating India’s commitment to “meeting the development needs of the people of Afghanistan”, he said that the recent decision by the Indian government to restore the status of a technical mission in Kabul to a full-fledged embassy “underscores this resolve”.He added, “We will continue our engagements with all stakeholders to augment our contribution to Afghanistan’s comprehensive development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity-building initiatives, in keeping with the priorities and aspirations of Afghan society.”India condemns killing of Afghan women, children in Pak strikesDuring the meeting, India also backed the UNAMA's concern over Pakistan's airstrikes and condemned the deaths of women, children and cricketers in Afghanistan.“India echoes UNAMA’s concern over airstrikes and condemn the killing of innocent women, children and cricketers in Afghanistan…We also note with grave concern the practice of ‘trade and transit terrorism’ that the people of Afghanistan are being subjected to by the cynical closure of access for a land-locked country whose people have been suffering numerous debilitating conditions for many years,” Harish said. He added, “These acts are in violation of WTO (World Trade Organisation) norms. Such open threats and acts of war against a fragile and vulnerable LLDC (Land-Locked Developing countries) nation, trying to rebuild in difficult circumstances, constitute a blatant violation of the UN Charter and international law."Harish said, “While we condemn such acts, we also strongly support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan.” He added that India has supported efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan for many years.India-Afghanistan relationsAfghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently visited New Delhi for a six-day trip in October, which marked the first time a top Taliban leader visited India since their return to power in 2021 in Afghanistan.Notably, India had in August 2021 withdrawn its officials from its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in the country.In June 2022, India tried to re-establish its diplomatic presence in Kabul after it deployed a “technical team” to the Afghan capital.During Muttaqi’s visit, external affairs minister S Jaishankar held a series of wide-ranging talks, where he announced the upgrading of Delhi’s technical mission in Kabul to an embassy status and vowed to renew its development works in Afghanistan.With inputs from agencies