YouSaid · the spoken record

Akbar

lines on the record: 51
first: 1998-08-28
most recent: 2023-12-20
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Finally, the international community must prioritize extending support to Afghan human rights defenders and civil society, both those who have been forced into exile and the brave activists who remain in the country, by expediting resettlement for those at risk, funding civic work in Afghanistan and continuing to meaningfully consult with the diverse human rights community of Afghanistan.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“Thirdly, I urge Member States and other relevant United Nations bodies to label and investigate the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women as both gender persecution and gender apartheid. Furthermore, gender apartheid must be included in the treaty on crimes against humanity that is currently under consideration. Fourthly, it is critical that UNAMA, as the primary United Nations presence in the country, retain and implement its current mandate in full, especially the tasks of monitoring and advocating for respect for human rights and providing protection for those at risk.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“That must be a collective red line for Member States, United Nations agencies and all humanitarian actors, and it must be central to discussions of any other areas regarding Afghanistan, including security, the economy, development, counter-terrorism, narcotics and migration. It is also critical that any next steps do not fall short of what the Security Council has already called for. Secondly, I urge the Council to support all avenues to ensure justice and accountability for human rights violations by the Taliban, including by bringing a case against Afghanistan before the International Court of Justice for violations of CEDAW and through the establishment of an independent international accountability mechanism on Afghanistan.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“For that reason, I urge the Council not to provide a blanket endorsement of the report’s recommendations without establishing clear and explicit safeguards to protect the human rights of Afghan women, including their full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in any decision-making or new mechanisms, such as the creation of a United Nations Special Envoy or broader United Nations-convened meetings of Special Envoys, going forward. I urge the Council to be clear that the normalization of relations with the Taliban is not possible without swiftly reversing all restrictions on women’s rights, as called for by the Council in resolution 2681 (2023), and Afghanistan meeting its obligations under international law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“First, as the Council deliberates on how to take forward the recommendations made in the independent assessment on Afghanistan mandated by resolution 2679 (2023) (S/2023/856, annex), it is critical to note that no steps should contradict the repeated recommendations of many Afghan women that there be no unprincipled engagement with or recognition of the Taliban or a seat for them at the United Nations as long as their systematic discrimination against women and girls continues. Setting out a road map for engagement as the Taliban’s abuses deepen sends a message that women’s rights are dispensable.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“Let me be clear: Afghanistan needs continued and increased international assistance. We should also continue to explore ways to relieve the economic pressure on ordinary Afghans without benefiting the Taliban. However, the situation in Afghanistan is not merely a humanitarian crisis. It is a political, a security and — most fundamentally — a human rights crisis, and we need the Security Council to be clear that human rights, especially women’s rights, will be central to the international community’s next steps in Afghanistan. I therefore leave the Council with the following recommendations.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“The choice before the Council is whether it will support our vision of a peaceful, equal, diverse, democratic Afghanistan or the Taliban’s vision, one that violates the Charter of the United Nations and the fundamental values that the Council claims to uphold. Right now, it is the Taliban who are defining the rules of the game, and humanitarian organizations, the United Nations and the international community are forced to play by their rules in order to negotiate modest concessions. It is ironic that, while we have insisted that humanitarian aid can never be conditional, it is the Taliban who have imposed conditions on the work of the United Nations and humanitarian organizations by banning Afghan women from working in most sectors. And regrettably, the United Nations and humanitarian actors have complied.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“When women face violence and abuse, their only options are to bear it or to die. I ask the Council: is this a future the international community is willing to support? Let me now share a different vision. We — the majority of Afghans — want an equal, peaceful and prosperous country. We want a country that is not at war with its women and girls. We want a country that embraces its rich ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. And we want a country that respects the human rights of all Afghans. The Taliban have shown the international community who they are. And we, Afghan women, have told the international community what we want.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“In that world, there is no quality and comprehensive education, and as a result, no economic prosperity. There are no ballot boxes or respect for the people’s right to choose. In that future, Afghanistan’s Government is almost entirely composed of madrasa-educated Taliban members with an unquestioning loyalty to their leader. Women and marginalized ethnic, linguistic and religious groups have no share in power and decision-making. In that vision, women are less human than men. Women’s education does not matter. Their rightful place is in the home. They have no role in decision-making or governance. They are constantly surveilled and held in place by their own male children and relatives, taxi drivers, the religious police and the entire machinery of the de facto authorities.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“The Taliban have further excluded Shia religious scholars from provincial Ulema councils. Furthermore, we have witnessed the dismantling of an independent judiciary and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; the undermining of the independence of other legal institutions, such as the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association; and the replacement of women, Shia and other non-Taliban judges and legal professionals, which has resulted in widespread impunity and undermined the rule of law. What do those trends tell us? The pattern of violations that I just described illustrate the Taliban’s destructive vision for my country’s future. In that vision, there is no rule of law. In that vision, there are no dissenters, no human rights defenders and no independent media.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“The Afghanistan Journalists’ Centre has reported 99 incidents of violations of press freedom in 2023, including 41 arrests and criminal charges being brought against journalists. At least two women human rights defenders, Manizha Sediqi and Parisa Azada, who were targeted for their activism, remain in custody. Despite the declared general amnesty, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and civil society organizations like ours have documented the ongoing killings of former security forces and Government employees, which to date have not been investigated. We have witnessed targeted attacks, forced displacement and marginalization of Afghanistan’s various religious and ethnic groups, such as Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens and Tajiks, who have no meaningful representation in the de facto Administration.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“We have witnessed repression of women’s rights in every conceivable sphere of life, from education and work to movement and participation in public life — repression so widespread and systematic that international experts have deemed it gender apartheid. Daily, we witness more cohesive enforcement of those restrictions with a rise in public corporal punishments and an increasing number of decrees limiting women’s rights and freedoms, now numbering 90. The Taliban’s promises of an inclusive Government, of respect for women’s rights and of the temporary nature of any of those restrictions have proved to be lies. We have witnessed a brutal crackdown on civic space, on the freedom of expression and the media and on human rights defenders.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“Ms. Akbar: I am grateful for this opportunity to brief the Security Council. My name is Shaharzad Akbar. I am a human rights defender and Executive Director of Rawadari, an Afghan civil society organization that has reported on the situation of human rights, including of women, girls and marginalized groups, since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. Today I want to share with the Council the trends we have observed on the ground in Afghanistan, what they tell us about the Taliban’s vision for the country and, most importantly, what it means for international engagement, including by the Security Council, going forward. Since the Taliban’s return to power, we have documented an alarming pattern of human rights violations across the board.”
2023-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9515 (2023) · source
“If the Taliban are allowed to continue down this path, it will be generations before Afghanistan recovers. As members of the Council deliberate on the future of my country today, I urge them to think of their own daughters, wives and sisters, and ask themselves: why do the women of Afghanistan deserve anything less?”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“The Council should continue to regularly issue strong statements and resolutions condemning the Taliban’s abuses against women and girls, and ensure that there are no exemptions to travel bans for Taliban leaders. If Afghan women are imprisoned in their homes, the Taliban should not be able to travel. The Taliban have violated the rights of my people for over a year with no consequences. I therefore urge the Council to support initiatives to strengthen accountability for human rights violations, including all forms of gender-based violence, as well as attacks against ethnic and religious communities and other marginalized groups. The people of Afghanistan deserve their human rights regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“The focus must now be on ensuring that UNAMA fully implements all aspects of that mandate, including on monitoring human rights and prioritizing women’s rights throughout its work. I urge all United Nations leaders, especially the Special Representative Otunbayeva, to be outspoken advocates for our rights and ensure that, in her case, her briefings to the Council prioritize reporting on the situation of women and marginalized groups. The Council should ensure that the full, equal and meaningful participation of diverse Afghan women civil society and other marginalized groups is front and centre in any decision-making regarding the future of Afghanistan, including the Council’s own.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“The Council should be clear that there will be no unconditional engagement with the Taliban unless these basic conditions are met. That includes no high-level visits by the United Nations to Afghanistan without a clear objective informed by the priorities and concerns of Afghan women. I urge the Council to continue not to grant the Taliban formal recognition of any kind, including a seat at the United Nations. The Council should renew the current mandate for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) as outlined in resolution 2626 (2022), without any changes, for one more year. UNAMA is already required to address key dimensions of the crisis that are critical for Afghan women and girls, but it has so far not met the expectations of the people of Afghanistan in fulfilling that mandate.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“They are imposing an extremist, patriarchal interpretation of Islam that relies on the repression of women and marginalized groups. This is not the path to peace — this is the road to another civil war, one that will not be contained in the region. I therefore call on the Security Council to take the following actions. The Council should demand that the Taliban respect the human rights of all Afghans, including women, girls, LGBTQI+ people and all other marginalized groups, and end all restrictions on women’s rights. That means not only ending the bans on education and working for NGOs, but all restrictions on women’s rights that violate Afghanistan’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“In November 2022, the Taliban raided a village in Daikundi province and killed 11 Hazaras, including children. Other groups, such as the Sikh community, have been forced to abandon their homes due to targeted attacks, and members of Tajik, Uzbek and Turkmen communities continue to be forcibly displaced and to have their lands redistributed to Kuchis and Taliban members. Women in Daikundi and Jawzjan also tell me that the distribution of aid in their communities has been unequal. The Taliban’s brutal return to extrajudicial killings, public floggings and executions is clear evidence that they have not changed since they were last in power. They have no respect for the rights or aspirations of the Afghan people. And they have no plans to change.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“They need it to grant them asylum. They need members to fund them. And they need them to hold the Taliban accountable when they are detained, tortured, disappeared or killed for demanding their rights. The lack of consequences only emboldens the Taliban to expand their crackdowns with total impunity. The Taliban’s all-male, majority Pashtun caretaker Cabinet signals that they have no intention of forming an inclusive Government that represents either the ethnic diversity of Afghanistan or women, or protecting marginalized ethnic and religious groups. The Taliban have not only failed to investigate or punish attacks on the Hazara community, they have been directly responsible for mass killings of Hazaras, which may amount to war crimes.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“In the words of one protester, those women are our ambassadors of freedom. The Taliban’s response to peaceful protests has been violent attacks, imprisonment and torture. Nargis Sadat, a woman protester, was arbitrarily arrested mere weeks ago, on 12 February; her fate remains unknown. Tamana Zaryab Paryani and Parwana Ibrahimkhil were abducted and disappeared after protesting in Kabul, and held for weeks in detention. Nayera Kohistani was arrested, along with her child, and has detailed abuse and torture in a Taliban prison. Hazara women who protest are treated even more harshly. The brave civic resistance of Afghan women urgently needs the Council’s support. They need the Council to say their names and take up their cases in their engagement with the Taliban. They need the Council to demand their release.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“Such flagrant violations of international law, including the provisions on equality and non-discrimination as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, require a proportional, coordinated and meaningful international response that makes clear that violations of women’s rights are intolerable and unjustifiable and that the Taliban will face consequences. If members do not defend women’s rights here, they have no credibility to do so anywhere else. Since August 2021, there have been two narratives about Afghanistan — one of the Taliban’s return, but another about women’s resistance. Grass-roots, women- led movements have been the most visible and vocal civic opposition to the Taliban so far and risk their lives daily to advocate for the human rights of all Afghans.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“I urge the Council to remember that, while it may save lives now, it is not a substitute for finding a durable solution to the current crisis. Women inside Afghanistan tell me they feel suffocated and hopeless. Young girls talk to me about ending their lives. That cannot continue. There is one term that appropriately describes the situation of Afghan women today: gender apartheid. Afghan women and experts — and even Secretary- General Guterres — have condemned the systematic discrimination against Afghan women and girls as gender apartheid. Furthermore, the Taliban’s human rights violations on the basis of gender amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity for which United Nations experts have called for the Taliban to be investigated and held accountable. Outspoken international condemnation is critical, but it is not enough.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“While some have resumed work in health and education sectors, it is clear that nothing less than an immediate and unconditional reversal of the ban will ensure that the 28 million Afghans depending on humanitarian assistance, especially women and girls, are able to survive. I want to underline that point. We keep hearing the international community say that it confronts a dilemma in Afghanistan — to save lives, or to call out the Taliban for its violations of women’s rights. But I ask members: whose lives are they saving? And at what cost? Pursuing humanitarian action without women, or delivering aid that does not reach women, serves only to further eliminate women from society. Humanitarian action must be rights-based and without discrimination.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“They experienced a fraction of what the Taliban is imposing on millions of Afghan women every single day. The total collapse of the legal system — and the exclusion of women from what remains of it — means that women facing domestic violence have no access to justice. Most recently, Taliban fighters prevented the sale of contraceptives. In a country that already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, women will not only have little choice about whether to have children, but will risk their lives to do so. A variety of restrictions have been placed on women’s right to work. The recent decision to ban women from working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has led to more than 100 civil society organizations being unable to fully function.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“It has now been 534 days since teenage girls could go to school, and 78 days since women were banned from universities, making Afghanistan the only country in the world where women are prohibited from accessing most forms of formal education, which will be catastrophic for generations to come. The Taliban have done everything they can to curb women’s freedom of movement and expression. Women cannot travel more than 75 kilometres without a male guardian. Women are banned from public baths, restaurants and parks. Even the Deputy Secretary- General and the Executive Director of UN-Women were told by the Taliban on their recent visit to Afghanistan that they should not be there without their mahrams and that it was haram for them to sit with the Taliban.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“Ms. Akbar: I am Zubaida Akbar, a woman human rights defender from Afghanistan. I deliver my statement today on behalf of Freedom Now, an organization that defends human rights and works directly with 20 grass-roots, mostly women-led, movements inside Afghanistan. It is my honour and responsibility to brief the Security Council today, on International Women’s Day, on the worst crisis for women’s rights in the world. As the Council is aware, since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the rights of Afghan women and girls have been decimated. Through over 40 decrees, the Taliban have sought not only to erase women from public life, but to extinguish our basic humanity. Let me share with members a few examples of what life is like for Afghan women today.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“Some 24 years later, millions of Afghans are looking for a way out of Afghanistan as they do not see a future there. We cannot wait and watch as history repeats itself. I apologize if my remarks today were lengthy, repetitive or less than coherent, as I address the Council exhausted and in mourning, hoping that this time, speaking to this forum will make a difference. Afghans are watching, amid fear and despair, to see whether the Council and the international community will do all they can to revive our hope in peace.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“Some of the most important things that a fact- finding mission would offer the Afghan people include acting as a preventive mechanism and highlighting the urgency of the threat to civilians, including femicide, massacres of religious and ethnic minorities, threats to girls’ education and targeted killings of human rights defenders. It would also keep victims and civilians centre-stage as Afghanistan heads towards a human rights and humanitarian crisis post-withdrawal, while establishing the facts, identifying perpetrators and preserving evidence with a view to ensuring accountability. A fact-finding mission could also propose remedies for victims, as well as effective prevention mechanisms. My family and I sought refuge in Pakistan when I was a child, escaping the conflict and the Taliban’s repressive regime.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“In July, international and national human rights organizations urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, to take action to support that call. In her public statement to the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner noted the deterioration of the situation and called for a preventive mechanism to be established. The European Parliament also expressed its support. The Afghan Government has now called for a special session of the Human Rights Council and a fact-finding mission. We support that request to recognize the urgency of the situation and to act now.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“The Council and its members still have the leverage to stop the bloodshed of Afghans and prevent catastrophes. The Council can save lives. We will need the Council to utilize the full range of political, diplomatic, human rights and humanitarian tools and interventions at its disposal to save lives and prevent further horrific atrocities. We urge the Council, the United Nations and international human rights mechanisms to respond with a greater sense of urgency to the Afghan calls for civilian protection, a ceasefire, an end to the violence and a meaningful and inclusive political process. Following the horrific attack on a girls’ school in Kabul on 8 May, the Commission called for a fact- finding mission to investigate the targeted killings of civilians in Afghanistan.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“Afghan women across Afghanistan are either reliving the nightmare of the Taliban era or living in the fear and trauma of soon reliving it if the tide does not turn and we do not get the opportunity to hold negotiations and participate meaningfully in them. The situation is equally concerning regarding access to information and freedom of expression. With the media under pressure from both sides to the conflict, independent media in different provinces are shutting down as more districts fall to the Taliban. In that context, it is important to reiterate to the Afghan Government its obligations to protect independent media, freedom of expression and all fundamental human rights. As I said earlier, if the violence continues, much worse is to come for Afghans and, subsequently, for the region and the world. But the violence need not continue.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“It is also a brutal reminder of the Taliban’s refusal to acknowledge Government employees as civilians, as they continue to target and kill them in Kabul, Kandahar and Ghazni and across Afghanistan. The ongoing storm of atrocities has already cost lives and has spread widespread terror and uncertainty, taking us further away from the possibility of peace. In addition to daily violations of the laws of conflict, Afghanistan’s human rights gains are under attack and rapidly shrinking as the conflict expands. One major and deeply concerning example is the rights of women and girls in areas captured by the Taliban. Women’s access to education, markets and basic health services is limited and shrinking. Their basic human rights are being denied and repressed.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“In one instance, the Taliban sought the help of an unarmed guard to move the bodies of civilians and then killed the guard in an attempt to remove eyewitnesses. Meanwhile, in Helmand, as I speak to the Council now, residents of Lashkar Gah are stuck between Taliban attacks and Government air strikes, fearing for their lives every minute and deprived of access to their basic rights. Again, as I speak to the Council today, I am mourning another attack on Afghanistan’s young people. Dawa Khan Menapal, a Government official working on communications and a man known for his poetry, humour and generosity, was shot in broad daylight in Kabul today. That served as a chilling reminder to all civilian Government employees, as well as journalists and human rights defenders, of the frequency of targeted killings in the midst of the raging war.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“Taliban advances and an escalation of violence have meant that we in the Commission are verifying details of horrific war crimes on a daily basis. Let me give three examples from our work in recent weeks. In Spin Boldak, Kandahar, our findings confirm that the Taliban dragged out and killed at least 40 civilians associated with the Government in a campaign of targeted, extrajudicial killings. Following media and human rights reporting, the Taliban imposed strict restrictions and would investigate people traveling to and from Spin Boldak to prevent full documentation of those atrocities. In Malistan, Ghazni province, we can confirm that at least 27 civilians have been murdered in targeted killings by the Taliban.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“The first six months of 2021 were the bloodiest six months for Afghan civilians since the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission started recording in 2009. Some 1,677 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 3,644 injured during that period. If the current rates of violence continue, I am heartbroken to note that there might be a grim new record of civilian harm by the end of this year. With districts and now a provincial city falling to the Taliban, millions of Afghans are waiting in terror to see what comes next. Women, in particular, remember the past and present abuses of the Taliban against their freedoms and their persons, and dread what is to come. As the Council knows, many are joining the ranks of those trying to flee the worsening storm.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“Ms. Akbar: I thank you, Mr. President, for giving me this opportunity to address the Security Council. I would like to thank India, the President of the Security Council, and the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan for inviting me to provide a briefing about the ongoing conflict and the violations of international humanitarian law in Afghanistan. I know many Afghans across Afghanistan are waiting to hear the message and outcome of today’s special meeting of the Council, as Afghan cities and villages burn in conflict; civilians experience extreme levels of harm and tens of thousands of families are displaced. Since June 2019, this is the third time I have had the honour of addressing the Council. Each time, the situation in Afghanistan is more critical than before. The situation today could not be more urgent.”
2021-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8831 (2021) · source
“International human rights organizations have catalogued those massive violations of human rights, in which women have been raped, places of religious worship have been desecrated and entire villages have been burned. India has violated every norm of international behaviour in its ruthless campaign to suppress and eliminate the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people and to keep those people under subjugation. It has also extended its acts of terrorism beyond its territory. We strongly denounce any effort to distort these facts.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“The Council had promised the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir that they would exercise their right to self- determination in a United Nations-supervised plebiscite. This promise, unfortunately, has not been fulfilled. The Council will know that India has consistently and wilfully obstructed the will of the international community to implement the Council's resolution on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir adopted under the India/Pakistan question. India has deployed more than 600,000 troops in Indian-held Kashmir. These troops have committed the worst kinds of acts of state terrorism against the innocent people of Kashmir.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“We are grateful to you, Mr. President, for giving us the floor for a second time to set the record straight on a matter of crucial importance to the Security Council itself, to Pakistan and to the international community. The matter to which we are referring has been under consideration by the Security Council for the last 50 years. We deeply regret that another effort was made by India today to distort the facts, which are well known to the Security Council, as it has been the guardian of its own resolutions which it passed 50 years ago. We would like to remind the Council that, in accordance with its resolutions of 50 years ago, the state of Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“The international community also has a responsibility in helping the Afghans to rebuild their war- ravaged country. We must contribute generously to the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and to the rehabilitation of the refugees, as this would demonstrate to them the dividends of peace. In conclusion, Pakistan appeals to the international community to accord formal recognition to the Government in Kabul. The Afghanistan seat at the United Nations must be assumed by the true representatives of the people of that country. The non-existing regime of northern Afghanistan should cease to occupy the United Nations seat forthwith.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“Hence, there is now an urgent need for the opening of an effective channel of communication with the true representatives of Afghanistan and its people. Their views must be heard. The people of Afghanistan are in need of substantial humanitarian supplies to sustain their lives. The international community must listen to the cry of the distressed people of that country. The United Nations agencies and the Member States must provide, on a priority basis, all possible financial, technical and material assistance without any preconditions. In this regard, we welcome the recent agreement between the Kabul authorities and the United Nations facilitating the resumption of the activities of the United Nations agencies and the international organizations in most parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“Similarly, we deplore any vilification campaign targeted at Pakistan. Pakistan is deeply concerned over the reported disappearance of some Iranian diplomats from Mazar-e- Sharif. At the request of Iran, we have approached the Kabul authorities at the highest level. However, I must stress that Pakistan's role and ability to ensure the safety of the Iranian diplomats must not be overestimated, particularly because we did not have any presence in Mazar-e-Sharif at the time it was captured by the Kabul forces. The time has now come for the international community to engage with the authorities in Kabul. The United Nations must come to terms with the ground realities in Afghanistan. It must increase its credibility as a mediator.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“Pakistan has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. Some countries and Government-controlled media have recently launched an orchestrated campaign of vilification against Pakistan, which is unfortunate. We have repeatedly and categorically rejected any involvement in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. I should like to reiterate our rejection of these allegations as ridiculous and baseless. We reject any finger-pointing aimed at deflecting the ground realities. In the recent past, our diplomatic missions and personnel in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif have come under severe attack. The Pakistan Embassy in Kabul was burnt, and the Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif was ransacked. We lost one of our Embassy personnel. Our Ambassador in Kabul was manhandled. We did not point an accusing finger at any country.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“Therefore, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the world in the firmest condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and in calling for its total eradication. In dealing with terrorism, recourse to any means other than established principles and international norms is likely to have a negative effect. It could spiral out of control and further complicate matters in a vicious circle of action and retaliation. It is a historical fact that the people of Afghanistan have never tolerated foreign interference in their internal affairs. Nor have they ever pardoned those who have violated their sovereignty and territorial integrity. The result of any adventurism or mis-adventurism, therefore, would be no different from that of the earliest invasions.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“The recent air strikes by the United States in Afghanistan against alleged terrorist targets are likely to complicate the situation. This action has caused deep indignation, irrespective of the motives behind the air strikes. The violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan cannot but be a matter of grave concern. Terrorism, and the suffering that is caused by the loss of innocent lives, is a heinous crime. We condemn the terrorist acts against the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and feel the deepest sympathy for the bereaved families. Pakistan itself has been a victim of repeated acts of terrorism, including State-sponsored terrorism planned and executed from across the border.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“Pakistan believes that there is now a distinct possibility of the restoration of peace in Afghanistan. We are encouraged by the positive pronouncements made recently by the Afghan authorities in Kabul that, first, they would grant amnesty to all who surrender; secondly, their agenda was purely domestic and posed no threat to any neighbouring country; and thirdly, the local commanders were under strict instructions not to indulge in revenge killings. It is our earnest hope that the countries sharing a border with Afghanistan, instead of raising alarms over an imaginary threat, will join Pakistan in promoting peace and harmony in Afghanistan. We must shed our biases and avail ourselves of the window of opportunity in seeking a realistic and practicable solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“While significant progress was made by the steering committee, the process was derailed by minor differences among the Afghan parties. Not discouraged by this setback, we subsequently made a number of efforts, together with Iran, under the aegis of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the United Nations. Unfortunately, those efforts did not yield any positive results. I now turn to some recent developments in Afghanistan. Pakistan firmly believes that while the military fortunes or misfortunes of any of the parties are purely an internal affair of the Afghan people, the new ground realities cannot be ignored by the international community. We must be pragmatic in our approach to and understanding of the situation of profound magnitude that has emerged.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“Like the Afghans themselves, our dream is to see peace established in Afghanistan without any further bloodshed. Pakistan's consistent policy has been the promotion of a peaceful and negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. Pakistan has been the only country which has engaged with all the sides in the conflict. Soon after assuming office in February 1997, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, launched an Afghan peace initiative. This culminated in the meeting of a steering committee in April this year at Islamabad for the purpose of working out the modalities for an ulema convention that would discuss the problems of Afghanistan in accordance with the shariah and the traditions of the country.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source
“Indeed, the suffering has gone on too long for a valiant and resolute people who have been instrumental in drawing a new course for international politics at the twilight of the cold war. They deserve a respite. There must be an end to their despair and misery. It is a fact that no other country has suffered more from the conflict in Afghanistan than Pakistan. As a consequence of continued instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan today continues to host more than 1.5 million refugees. We stand almost single-handed in looking after these refugees, in the face of donor fatigue and the indifference of the international community to their plight. Pakistan has also been the victim of terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling as a result of conditions inside Afghanistan.”
1998-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3921 (1998) · source