Hyderabad: In a major shift, the United Nations Security Council has omitted a reference to Taliban from a paragraph in its statement that called on Afghan groups not to support terrorists “operating on the territory of any other country”. In other words, this is the initial indication by the UNSC that the Taliban may no longer be a 'global outcaste'.
India, which is the President of the UNSC, signed on the dotted lines on the statement and issued it in its capacity as the chair for this month.
Permanent Representative of India at the UN, T S Tirumurti on August 16 (a day after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul) even issued a statement on behalf of the UNSC that read: “The members of the Security Council reaffirmed the importance of combating 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.”
The reference to the Taliban was omitted indicating that the Taliban was perhaps being seen as a state actor by the UNSC members, including India.
Syed Akbaruddin, former India’s Permanent Representative to India at the UN, on Twitter wrote characteristically, “In diplomacy… a fortnight is a long time… The ‘T’ word is gone.”
According to officials, the decision to sign off on the statement has been taken in view of changing “ground realities”. The Taliban has been responsible for much of the evacuation of foreigners and Afghans-at-risk.
The US has alone evacuated more than 1 lakh people since August 15. The Indian Embassy evacuated all its staff on August 17 after the first UNSC statement was issued.
So far India has evacuated 565 people: 175 Embassy personnel, 263 other Indian nationals, 112 Afghan nationals including Hindus and Sikhs, and 15 third-country nationals.
Officials believe the safe passage of so many people would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Taliban.
While India hasn’t engaged with the Taliban as other UNSC members have, signing off on the statement is a cautious indication of the possibility to engage with the hardline group.
The August 27 statement had strong words on terror but did not hold the Taliban accountable: “The attacks, which were claimed by Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), an entity affiliated with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), resulted in the death and injuries of dozens of civilians, including children, and military personnel."
The statement went on to add: “The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. Deliberately targeting civilians and personnel assisting in the evacuation of civilians is especially abhorrent and must be condemned.”
“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. They urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard.”
