Pakistani diplomat Munir Akram assails India for targeting Pakistan in UNSC

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistani diplomat pushed back against false Indian claims in the US Security Council Wednesday about continuing terrorist activities from safe havens in Pakistan and questioned India’s impartiality as head of the 15-member body’s Taliban committee.

“India’s statement in UNSC briefing is a reflection of its deep frustration at its inability to distort the UN reports and failure of its propaganda and disinformation campaign against Pakistan,” Ambassador Munir Akram said in a series of sharply-worded tweets in response to the allegations made by Indian Ambassador TS Trimurti.

The Indian envoy spoke after a briefing to the 15-member Council by Vladimir Voronkov, head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), in which he urged member states to remain focused and united in thwarting terrorism. “Contrary to the Indian allegations,” the Pakistani envoy added, “recent UN reports validate Pakistan’s actions against all terrorist groups.”

In its 27th report to the UN Security Council, released last week, the UN monitoring team that tracks Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and other extremist groups points to the arrests in Pakistan of “individuals engaging in terrorism financing and the freezing of the assets of designated individuals and entities”.

“The Indian statement (in UNSC) is also a clear manifestation of its role as a spoiler in the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan,” Ambassador Akram said on the Twitter “Contrary to the international community’s consensus of finding a political solution to the Afghan conflict, India wants to prolong the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan by supporting terrorist groups like Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA)”.

Pakistan, he said, had provided “irrefutable” evidence of India’s direct support and financing of UN-listed TTP and JuA to the Security Council’s 1267 Sanctions Committee.

“We call on the Committee to initiate immediate actions against the Indian government agencies involved in sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan,” the Pakistani envoy said.

“The Indian role in supporting terrorist groups also raises questions on its so-called impartiality as the Chair of the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee.

The Security Council must not allow India to derail the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations. “There is no doubt that India will do all that it can to prolong the conflict in Afghanistan.”