UNSC adopts resolution to renew Afghan mission for three months; all 15 members, including Pakistan, vote in favour

WASHINGTON: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for three months, with all 15 members — including Pakistan — voting in favour. The mandate will now run from March 16 to June 17, marking a departure from UNAMA’s customary one-year renewal amid differences among council members over the duration of the extension. Explaining its vote, Islamabad said it supported the extension because UNAMA played a vital role in promoting “peace, security and stability in Afghanistan,” warning that the country faces an “exponential rise in the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, stated: “Pakistan supports UNAMA in promoting peace, security and stability in Afghanistan which confronts multiple challenges, particularly the increasing threat of terrorism, human rights, narcotics and diminishing humanitarian aid.” He stressed that “the foremost among the challenges faced in Afghanistan is the deteriorating security situation and exponential rise in the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.” The ambassador pointed out that “elements within the Taliban regime are actively collaborating (with) several terrorist groups such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Balochistan Liberation Army and Majeed Brigade, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Kurdistan, Al Qaeda and East Turkestan Islamic Movement, operating with impunity inside Afghanistan.“ Such groups, he said, were “responsible for cross-border attacks against Pakistani civilians and law enforcement personnel, targeting critical infrastructure and public places.” Ambassador Jadoon further stated that UNAMA had a responsibility to “monitor and analyse the security dynamics across the country” and expressed hope, saying “the next three months will allow us to review UNAMA’s role in Afghanistan in a manner that will help us achieve the long term goals of peace and stability in Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbours.” The resolution expressed serious concern over terrorist groups in Afghanistan which “continue to constitute a threat to international peace and security” and called on the Taliban “to take active, immediate, demonstrable and concrete measures” to combat terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomever committed.” It also outlined the Council’s expectation to strengthen “the safe and secure management of weapons and ammunition to prevent their diversion to terrorist groups.” Diplomats said the three-month rollover emerged as a compromise after China, the penholder on Afghanistan, proposed a one-year extension while the United States supported a shorter renewal. The resolution also asks UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a new special representative to advance political engagement on Afghanistan. UNAMA, established in 2002 under Security Council Resolution 1401, coordinates UN humanitarian, political and development activities in Afghanistan.