Afghanistan links Pakistan's truce with rebels to violence
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta tells the UN Security Council that a key factor behind the worsening security in his country was "the de facto truce" in neighboring Pakistan's tribal areas.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta told the UN Security Council that a key factor behind the worsening security in his country was "the de facto truce" in neighboring Pakistan's tribal areas.
"One of the main factors contributing to the deterioration of the security situation in the country is the de facto truce in the tribal areas beyond the border," he said during a council debate on violence-wracked Afghanistan.
He was referring to ongoing peace talks between Pakistani authorities and top Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud, who was blamed by the previous government and US officials for the December assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto.
Tuesday Afghan officials accused Pakistan of being behind a suicide blast at the Indian embassy in Kabul that left 41 people dead, saying the attack had the hallmarks of its intelligence agency.
"Terrorist sanctuaries and an elaborate system of financing, recruiting, arming and systematic training of suicide bombers are at work outside our borders, to keep the terrorist threat alive," Spanta said.
Warning that terrorism "could not be defeated unless its root causes were addressed," he said success would be achieved "only by a coherent, integrated, regional and global approach."
Indian ambassador to the UN Nirupam Sen said that despite Monday's attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, New Delhi would not waver in its commitment to helping Afghanistan secure stability and development.
"We cannot afford to slacken our resolve or our efforts in combating the forces of terrorism, extremism and crime, wherever and in whatever forms these groups may take," he told the council.