Pak fulminates after denied opportunity to address UNSC meet on Afghanistan, says India politicising multilateral forum

Islamabad [Afghanistan], August 17 (ANI): Pakistan has claimed it was again denied an opportunity to speak at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Afghanistan, accusing India of politicising the multilateral platform.

The United Nations Security Council met on Monday morning to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. This was the second meeting in Afghanistan under the Indian presidency. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a series of tweets after the meeting, said that it was “unfortunate that Pakistan was denied the opportunity to speak at today’s UNSC meeting on Afghanistan once again”

The meeting comes after Kabul fell to the Taliban and Afghanistan government collapsed on Sunday after terrorists entered the Afghan’s capital. Pakistan, which has been accused of providing covert and overt support to the Taliban, said it cannot stress enough the importance of the international community to remain engaged and involved in Afghanistan in a constructive manner. Qureshi said that India’s “partisan and obstructionist actions”, repeatedly politicising the multilateral platform speaks volumes of their intention for Afghanistan the region.

Early this month, Pakistan Foreign Office issued a statement regretting that it was not invited to the United National Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, despite being the closest neighbour of the conflict-ridden country. During the UNSC meeting on Monday, China also expressed regret that Pakistan request to participate in the meeting was not granted.

Chinese diplomat Geng Shyang said: “We learned that some regional countries and Afghanistan’s neighbours had made requests to participate in today’s meeting. It is regrettable that their requests were not granted.” Following the meeting, the UNSC has called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and the establishment of a new government that is united, inclusive and representative.

In a press statement, UNSC President TS Tirumurti said that the members of the Security Council called for an immediate end to the violence in Afghanistan, the restoration of security, civil and constitutional order. UNSC members also called for urgent talks to resolve the current crisis of authority in the country and to arrive at a peaceful settlement through an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process of national reconciliation. (ANI)