Intl community must take fresh look at Afghan drawdown:Mukerji

India has said the growing number of terrorist attacks across the world present a strong case for the international community to review the drawdown of international troops from war-torn Afghanistan.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Asoke Mukerji cited the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report that said terrorism andnot insurgency or tribal differences, is the main source of insecurity and instability in Afghanistan.
Mukerji said the "main concern" for India remains over the security situation in Afghanistan.
He called on the Security Council, which has passed several resolutions to counter terrorism binding on all member states, to look at ways to paralyse terrorist organisations such as ISIL and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

"The first step the Council should undertake is to strengthen the Council's Sanctions Regime structure, in order to effectively impose and implement the restrictions placed on the listed terrorist organisations, so as to deny them sanctuaries and safe haven," he said.
He stressed that a special responsibility lies on the Security Council to ensure that the threats to international peace and security related to the situation in Afghanistan are dealt with on a priority basis, so that the post-2015 Development Agenda can be effectively implemented in Afghanistan.

He termed as "alarming" the revelation regarding linkages of intra-terrorist violence between the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its affiliates with the Taliban.

Mukerji further said it is "disturbing" that the majority of alleged ISIL affiliated fighters appear to be drawn from disaffected former members of the Afghan Taliban, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or groups previously associated with Al-Qaeda.
"The recent attacks in Beirut, Syria and Paris all point towards rising extremism and the extension of the arc of terrorism. We urge the Security Council to act against this threat to international peace and security with a sense of urgency and within a defined time-frame," he said.
Given the growing number of terrorist attacks across the world and its ongoing activity in Afghanistan, Mukerji said India is of the view that there is a "strong case for the international community to take a fresh look at the manner in which the drawdown of the international military presence in Afghanistan is happening.

The US has planned since last year to reduce US troops in Afghanistan from the current force of 10,000 to 1,000 or less by the time President Barack Obama leaves office.
"The patterns of violence in Afghanistan are mutating and terrorists are not only attempting to grab territory, but also injecting sectarianism in an already complex situation," Mukerji said.
He said India has taken note of the various steps taken by the Afghan government under the leadership of President Ashraf Ghani to launch a peace process in Afghanistan, adding that Ghani has also called for effective and verifiable action against the Haqqani network.

With Afghanistan facing huge development challenges, Mukerji said it is important for the country to have a supportive, stable political environment for growth and development.
Pakistan's UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi said said recent military developments in Kunduz had illustrated the vulnerabilities of the Afghan Security Forces and their continued reliance on the international military presence.
She said while Pakistan remained ready to assist in reviving an Afghan-led and owned peace process, it would do so only once requested by the Afghan Government.
He said Pakistan had raised the issues through the New
Zealand ambassador in "informal consultations" of the Council.

"Was there a resonance. I didn't hear that, nor did anybody else in those informal consultations. We are a responsible state. It is not our intention to aggravate the situation.
"Howeveras a responsible state we will not tolerate any impunity. We will not be indifferent to territory being used to kill innocent citizens of our country," Akbaruddin said adding that India hopes and expects "support from Pakistan also in that endeavor".
"Ultimately they are committed to a bilateral understanding on this."
The Indian envoy also added that Pakistan had raised the Kashmir issue in the General Assembly but asked how many nations "supported" it.

"By my count there were none," he said adding that there is "no resonance" among UN member states for Pakistan's claims on Kashmir.
"At the high-level General Debate, there was a specific and long Pakistani submission (on Kashmir). I did not hear any resonance of that among any of the member states who took the floor. Ultimately 193 of them took the floor. There wasno resonance. If you find anything contrary I'm willing to listen," Akbaruddin said.
Akbaruddin stressed that as a responsible state, India will not be "indifferent to impunity" as an option.
"Our approach is that the response (surgical strike) we undertook yesterday...Was a measured, proportionate, counter-terrorist strike. It was reflective of our desire to stop a clear and imminent threat. Our objectives have been met and that effort has since ended," he said.

He reiterated that India's effort as a "responsible state" is to respond proportionately and in a measured manner and achieve its objectives.
"In that case, we consider our objectives fulfilled. What spin somebody puts, whether somebody has seen it or not seen it, is not a germane to the issue. That it was undertaken, that we feel that it achieved our objective is important for us as a country," he said.
On whether India has been approached by the office of the Secretary General or the Security Council regarding de-escalation of the situation, Akbaruddin said, "I did not hear any response to the submission (by Pakistan) yesterday."

He said as a normal diplomatic practice, if there are any requests to him or other Indian diplomats on any matter, "it is our job as diplomats to respond to them."
"In the UN we have a very expansive agenda. We have an agenda that deals with peace and security and also climate change, sustainable development goals. It also deals with having a culture of peace integrating and working together with others.
"We are focused on that expansive and extensive agenda. We are not a one agenda state," he said.
(Reopens FGN 5)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the attackers will not go "unpunished" and the sacrifice of the jawans will not go in vain.

In her meeting with the UN chief, Lodhi said India's "claim" of carrying out a surgical strike across the Line of Control was "false" but added that India had by its own admission "committed aggression" against Pakistan.
According to a release by the Pakistan mission here, Lodhi told the Secretary General that Pakistan has exercised maximum restraint but would respond forcefully to any acts of aggression and provocation.
She added that the responsibility for the "escalating crisis rests entirely on India", the release said.
Briefing him about the escalating situation, Lodhi said "India has, by its declarations and actions, created conditions that pose an imminent threat to regional and International peace and security."

She said India provoked the crisis to divert international attention away from the "Indigenous Kashmiri uprising" and asked the Secretary General to intervene in bringing an end to the alleged grave human rights in Kashmir.
The Secretary General repeated his offer of extending his good offices to both countries, which the release said Pakistan has always welcomed but India has consistently declined.
Lodhi also asked the Secretary General to ensure that UNMOGIP is able to report independently about the facts of the situation on the ground to the Security Council.
Lodhi further said the Secretary General is "bound by the UN Charter" to "intervene boldly and unequivocally" by calling on India to halt its "aggressive actions and provocations", lest these lead to an even more dangerous situation.

During the briefing, Dujarric had said that Lodhi's meeting with Ban was held at her own request and added that Ban's office does not give readouts of his meetings with Permanent Representatives.
Ujarric reiterated that the Secretary General is following the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan with "great concern and the increased tensions along the LoC as well as the escalating rhetoric" between the two countries.
He stressed that the UN Chief would welcome any proposals to de-escalate the tensions between the nuclear-armed neigbours.