Afghanistan Asks India for Urgent Discussion at UNSC After Multiple Blasts Rock Kabul

Afghanistan on Tuesday asked India to call for an urgent discussion at the UN Security Council (UNSC) following blasts in Kabul, including a car explosion outside the defence minister’s residence. Sources told CNN-News18 that Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar and EAM S. Jaishankar spoke to each other in this regard.

Kabul was rocked by multiple blasts on Tuesday night. A loud blast followed by rapid gunfire rocked Kabul, less than two hours after a similar explosion went off in the Afghan capital. The first explosion took place outside Afghanistan defence minister’s residence, while the second blast was followed by some smaller explosions in a central part of the city, not far from the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses several foreign embassies, including the United States mission. The blasts came as the Taliban pressed on with their campaign to capture three regional capitals over the past few days.

Afghanistan asked India for the discussion at UNSC as India is holding the presidency of the UNSC for August. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually preside over an open debate on maritime security at the UNSC on August 9. It will be the first time an Indian Prime Minister will chair an open debate at the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, minister Atmar met with ambassadors and representatives of neighboring countries to discuss the latest political and security developments and assess areas of cooperation between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the international community.

Atmar discussed and provided necessary information on six main areas, including the security situation, the presence of foreign fighters alongside the Taliban, the dire humanitarian condition, and the Taliban’s widespread crimes and human rights violations, the government’s new security plan, and main areas of cooperation with the international community.

(With AFP inputs)

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