India sharply criticised Pakistan at a United Nations Security Council session on Thursday, condemning Islamabad’s recent strikes inside Afghanistan as a “grave” breach of international law that endangered regional peace and killed civilians, including women, children and local cricketers.
The comments came amid renewed clashes between Taliban and Pakistani forces earlier this week — the latest flare-up occurring less than two months after both sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire aimed at halting weeks of border hostilities. Each side has accused the other of violating the truce.
Parvathaneni Harish, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said New Delhi remains “gravely concerned” by what he described as Pakistan’s “trade and transit terrorism,” pointing to Islamabad’s repeated closure of border access for landlocked Afghanistan.
“We add our voice to calls for paying full respect to the United Nations Charter and international law with particular attention to protection of innocent civilians,” he said.
Harish noted that blocking routes essential for Afghanistan’s survival violated global trade norms. “The cynical closure of access for a land locked country whose people are suffering numerous debilitating conditions since many years are in violation of WTO norms,” he said. “Such open threats and acts of war against a fragile and vulnerable LLDC nation, trying to rebuild in difficult circumstances, constitute a blatant violation of the UN Charter and international law.”
“While we condemn such acts, we also strongly support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan,” he added.
The border conflict resurfaced in early October following a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul, prompting Afghan forces to retaliate. Fighting escalated even as Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was visiting India, marking the worst period of conflict since the Taliban takeover in 2021.
After weeks of hostilities, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a ceasefire on October 19 following mediation by Qatar and Turkey. However, the truce has begun to fray. A spokesperson for the Taliban regime said Pakistan initiated the latest round of shelling, leaving Kabul “forced to respond.”
Harish told the Security Council that India is monitoring the evolving security situation and pressed for collective global efforts to prevent UN-designated terrorist groups — including ISIL, Al Qaida, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and proxies such as The Resistance Front — from exploiting cross-border spaces.
Calling for a calibrated approach toward Kabul, he said punitive-only strategies have repeatedly failed. “A coherent policy of engagement should incentivize positive actions,” he remarked. “We call on the United Nations and the international community to adopt nuanced policy instruments that help bringing sustainable benefits for the people of Afghanistan.”