Syed Akbaruddin slams UNSC statement on Afghanistan for dropping the T word

@prashanthamine

Mumbai: Former permanent representative of India at the United Nations and former diplomat, Syed Akbaruddin has slammed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) statement issued by President T S Trimurti for dropping the ‘T’ word (Taliban) from its statement of August 27, 2021. In a tweet on August 28, Akbaruddin slammed the UNSC for omitting the T word which it had referred to in its statement on August 16. In a cryptic tweet on August 28, Syed Akbaruddin tweeted “In Diplomacy a fortnight is a long time…The ‘T’ word is gone…”. India had been the President of the UNSC for the month of August.

The former India diplomat who won many laurels for having resolutely defended India’s interests at the UN, urged twitterati to compare the marked portions of the two statements issued by the President of the UNSC related to developments in Afghanistan.

On August 16, the relevant paragraph in the statement issued by UNSC President T S Trimurti read thus “The members of the Security Council reaffirmed the importance of combatting terrorism in Afghanistan to ensure the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any country, and that neither the Taliban nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country”.

However, the same UNSC under India’s Presidency drops any mention of Taliban from its statement issued on August 27, after the twin blasts carried out by Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) at the Kabul airport on August 26.

On August 27, the relevant paragraph in the statement issued by UNSC President T S Trimurti read thus “The members of the Security Council reiterated the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan to ensure territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any country, and that no Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any country”.

Although the subsequent UN resolutions have called for safe passage for all those wanting to leave Afghanistan, the marked shift in the wording of the two statements has raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles.

According to unconfirmed reports appearing in a section of the media, the change in the UNSC resolution had got to do with China and Russia while abstaining from casting their vote also did not use their veto power in vetoing the resolution considering the overwhelming sentiments behind it.

Rest of the 13 members of the UNSC voted for the resolution which was moved by India on the last day of its Presidency of the UNSC. Voting on the UNSC resolution reflects a deeply divided UNSC on the issue of Afghanistan.

Giving details of the UNSC resolution, India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla stated that “the UNSC has demanded that Taliban should not allow terrorist to use its territory for attacks against other countries, and this would apply to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)”.

Reacting to the UNSC resolution UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said “This resolution – which has been driven by the UK, US and France – is a strong signal of the determination within the international community to send a clear message to the Taliban and set clear expectations of the new Afghan government. The resolution calls for safe passage for all those who wish to leave, urgent humanitarian access and respect for human rights, and insists that Afghan territory must not be used to threaten or attack any other country or to shelter and train terrorists”.

The European Union in a statement issued here on Tuesday after its EU Council extraordinary meeting stated “The EU and its Member States will do their utmost to ensure that the situation in Afghanistan does not lead to new security threats for EU citizens. All efforts must be pursued to ensure that the Taliban regime ceases all ties and practices with international terrorism and that Afghanistan does not become once again a sanctuary for terrorists and organised crime groups”.

What has raised eyebrows is the fact that the UN resolution of June 1, 2021 that was signed by India under its Presidency on imposing sanctions on Taliban so as to prevent it from using Narcotics (Opium cultivation) to fund its terror activities in Afghanistan. Earlier, a similar resolution was adopted by the UN on February 3, 2021. Barely in two months since June and in the matter of days between two UNSC resolutions under India’s Presidency, the tone and tenor of the language used against Afghanistan and Taliban has changed.