Afghanistan writes to UNSC over 'violations' of its territory by Pak forces

Kabul: Afghanistan has written to the UN Security Council over continued “violations” of its territory by Pakistani military forces and said it will ask the 15-nation UN body to take necessary measures and actions to end them if the situation is not de-escalated bilaterally.

Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Adela Raz wrote to the President of the Security Council, Germany, to report on the most recent violations of the Afghan territory by Pakistan’s military forces and said the “incursion” represents a reiteration of violations as Kabul had previously expressed its concerns to the Security Council in February and August 2019.

Raz said in the letter that on July 15, Pakistan military forces began “unprovoked artillery attacks” against Afghan border posts and civilian residential areas in the Sarakano and Asad Abad districts of Kunar Province. The attacks included 12 heavy artillery strikes targeting Asad Abad district and more than 160 artillery rounds fired at Sarakano district.

In addition to four casualties among members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, the attacks claimed the lives of six civilians, including two women, and eight injuries and resulted in significant damage to civilian property.

“We would like to once again reiterate, as we have in previous communications, that the issue of violations of Afghan territory by Pakistani military forces has continued despite numerous appeals made to the Government of Pakistan, bilaterally and through other measures, to cease their illegal and provocative activities in our sovereign territory.

In that regard, the government of Afghanistan expresses, once again, its strong condemnation of Pakistan’s failure to adhere to its obligations under the principles of the Charter of the United Nations as well as international law and international humanitarian law,” she said in the letter.

Raz said the Afghan Government is “currently working to de-escalate the situation bilaterally, but should this fail, it will call on the Security Council to take measures and actions necessary to bring about an end to the violations identified above.”

She also requested that the letter of complaint regarding Pakistan’s continued activities be circulated as a document of the Security Council and “kept on record for reference should attempt at de-escalating prove unfruitful.”