India warns of ‘significant increase’ in Afghan terror

New York: India has warned of a “significant increase” in the presence of terrorist groups in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and threats to other countries emanating from the war-torn country.

“We need to see concrete progress in ensuring that such proscribed terrorists, entities, or their aliases do not get any support, tacit or direct, either from Afghan soil or from the terror sanctuaries based in the region,” India’s Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj told the UN Security Council recently.

India’s concerns about terrorist threats from Afghanistan were widely shared by participants at the Council meeting held on the eve of the anniversary of the US withdrawal from the country.

Kamboj said that there was “a significant increase” in the presence of the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) terror group in Afghanistan and its “capacity to carry out attacks”. The IS affiliate “continues to issue threats of terrorist attacks on other countries”, she said.

Kamboj drew attention to the attack on a gurdwara in Kabul in June and the bomb explosion near it the next month, which she said were “hugely alarming”. IS-K had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The UK, France, the US, Albania, Kenya, and, even, China and Russia acknowledged the terrorism threats from Afghanistan.

The meeting was convened at the request of Russia, which, along with China, Iran and Pakistan, wanted the sanctions on the Taliban eased.

Image courtesy of (Photo courtesy: risetopeace.org)

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