'Need Zero Tolerance for Terrorism': India's Envoy to UN on Afghanistan

'The situation prevailing in Afghanistan is of great concern to us in India,' India's Permanent Rep to UN said.

File photo of India's ambassador to UN TS Tirumurti.

(Photo Courtesy: TS Tirumurti)

India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti, on Monday, 16 August, said that Afghanistan’s neighbours and the whole region will feel safer if there is zero tolerance for terrorism and it is ensured that the Afghan territory is not used by terrorist groups to threaten or attack any other country.

“If there is zero-tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and it's ensured that Afghan territory isn't used by terrorist groups to threaten or attack any other country, then Afghanistan's neighbours and region would feel safer.”

Permanent Representative of India to UN, TS Tirumurti, as quoted by ANI

Tirumurti also lamented the “unfortunate scenes at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul” that reflect “widespread panic among the people”, and reportedly said, “Women and children are in distress. Incidents of firing have been reported from the city, including the airport.”

Urging concerned parties to maintain law and order, and ensure safety of all, Tirumurti went on to say, "As a neighbour of Afghanistan, as a friend of its people, the current situation prevailing in the country is of great concern to us in India. Afghan men, women and children are living under a constant state of fear."

'Cannot and Must Not Abandon People of Afghanistan': UN Secretary General

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, asked the UNSC and the international community to "use all tools at their disposal to suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan and to guarantee that basic human rights will be respected."

"I urge all parties, especially the Taliban, to exercise utmost restraint to protect lives and to ensure that humanitarian needs can be met. The conflict has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes... I call upon Taliban and all parties to respect and protect international humanitarian law and rights, and freedom of all persons."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as quoted by ANI

He also called for countries to be willing to accept refugees and to refrain from any deportations, as he declared, "We cannot and must not abandon the people of Afghanistan."

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on Sunday as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and conceded that the insurgents had won the 20-year war. Horrific visuals emerged from the Kabul airport on Monday showing hundreds of people trying to board flights amid chaos.

Following the withdrawal of a majority of US troops on 1 May, Taliban advanced rapidly in the country, capturing city after city. Kabul was the only major Afghan city left under the control of the country's central government, until it was taken over on Sunday.

(With inputs from ANI.)