India abstained from voting on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution regarding the situation in Afghanistan on Monday, noting that a “business as usual” approach without new and targeted initiatives is unlikely to deliver the outcomes the international community envisions for the Afghan people.
The text titled “The situation in Afghanistan” was adopted by a vote of 116 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with 12 abstentions.
While delivering the explanation of the vote on the UNGA resolution on the situation in Afghanistan, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, said that India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan and called on the international community to direct its coordinated efforts towards ensuring that entities and individuals designated by the UN no longer exploit Afghan soil for terrorist activities.
He said, “India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan. The international community must direct its coordinated efforts towards ensuring that entities and individuals designated by the UN Security Council – – the Al Qaeda and their affiliates, ISIL and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, along with their regional sponsors who facilitate their operations, no longer exploit the Afghan territory for terrorist activities.”
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Afghanistan to uphold human rights, adhere to international law and take decisive action against terrorism amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, rising numbers of returnees and the enduring impact of decades of conflict.
Recalling recent talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister, Harish said, “On the political front, India’s External Affairs Minister recently spoke with the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan. We welcome the strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22, 2025, by the Afghan side. This conversation followed a meeting between India’s Foreign Secretary and the Acting Foreign Minister, where both sides discussed various bilateral issues and regional developments.”
He stated that India’s approach to Afghanistan has always been guided by “long-standing friendship and special friendship” with the Afghans.
“India’s approach to Afghanistan – as its contiguous neighbour with deep historical and cultural ties – has always been guided by our longstanding friendship and special relationship with the Afghan people. As a long-standing partner, India has direct stakes in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he stated.
Harish said that India has been actively engaging with regional and international stakeholders to promote peace, stability and development in Afghanistan since the UNGA last considered the issue in 2022.
He further said, “We believe that international and regional consensus and cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan are essential. Our participation in UN meetings in Doha and other regional forums reflects our ongoing efforts, including our recent participation in the meetings held in Doha last week.”
He also spoke about the humanitarian assistance provided by India to Afghanistan.
“India’s immediate priorities in Afghanistan include the provision of humanitarian assistance and the implementation of capacity-building initiatives for the Afghan people. We have been working closely with UN agencies to support the Afghan people in critical areas such as health, food security, education and sports. India’s commitment to Afghanistan’s reconstruction is demonstrated through more than 500 development partnership projects across all provinces.”
He stated that India, since August 2021, supplied around 50,000 metric tons of wheat, over 330 metric tons of medicines and vaccines, 40,000 litres of the pesticide Malathion, and 58.6 metric tons of other essential items, supporting millions of Afghans in dire need of humanitarian assistance. He also mentioned India’s efforts to provide help to Afghanistan in partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
“In partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), we have provided 84 MTs of assistance and medicines and 32 MTs of social support items for drug rehabilitation programmes in Afghanistan, particularly those focused on women. India also continues to offer scholarships and fellowships to Afghan students. Since 2023, we have provided scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate courses to 2,000 Afghan students, including nearly 600 girls and women,” he said.
He emphasised that any policy to address a post-conflict situation must combine a mix of policy instruments – incentivising positive behaviour and disincentivising harmful actions and an approach focused on punitive measures is unlikely to succeed.
He said, “Any coherent policy to address a post-conflict situation must combine a mix of policy instruments – incentivizing positive behaviour and disincentivizing harmful actions. An approach focused only on punitive measures, in our view, is unlikely to succeed.”
“The United Nations and the broader international community have adopted more balanced and nuanced approaches in other post-conflict contexts. However, no new policy instruments have been introduced to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan since August 2021. A ‘business as usual’ approach, without new and targeted initiatives, is unlikely to deliver the outcomes the international community envisions for the Afghan people,” he added.
He emphasised India’s historic ties with the people of Afghanistan and expressed commitment to meeting their humanitarian and developmental needs.
He said, “I would like to reiterate India’s historic ties with the people of Afghanistan and our enduring commitment to meeting their humanitarian and developmental needs. While we remain committed to continued engagement with all relevant stakeholders and broadly support the international community’s efforts towards a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan, India has decided to abstain on this resolution.”
