Permanent Mission of India
New York
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United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

Statement by Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, Permanent Representative
17 September 2025

Mr. President,

I thank SRSG and Head of UNAMA Ms. Roza Otunbayeva for her briefing. Being her last in this current capacity, I would like to place on record my delegation’s sincere appreciation for leading this agency with distinction. We value her close cooperation and hope to carry forward the same with UNAMA in the future. Our delegation also notes the comments made by Ms. Hanifa Girowal.

India and Afghanistan share a civilizational relationship. Being contiguous neighbours, our bonds of friendship span many centuries and this history inspires us to foster closer engagement with the Afghan people.

India has a paramount interest in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan. We believe in the utmost importance of international and regional consensus and cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan and actively engage with all relevant parties to promote peace, stability and development in the country. Our participation in UN meetings in Doha and other regional forums reflects our efforts.

India’s immediate priorities in Afghanistan include provision of humanitarian assistance and implementation of capacity-building initiatives for Afghan people. India’s commitment to Afghanistan’s reconstruction is demonstrated through more than 500 development partnership projects across all provinces. Our work with UN agencies in critical areas such as health, food security, education and sports is also the manifestation of this goal.

Mr. President,

In the aftermath of the earthquake earlier this month, India was among the first countries to provide humanitarian assistance. We immediately delivered 1,000 family tents and 15 tons of food supplies to the affected provinces of Afghanistan. An additional 21 tons of relief materials, including essential medicines, hygiene kits, blankets and generators, was dispatched. More relief supplies are underway and will be delivered in the coming days. This Humanitarian Assistance dovetails with India’s support since August 2021 during which we have supplied around 50,000 tons of wheat, over 330 tons of medicines and vaccines, 40,000 liters of pesticides and other essential social support items, for millions of Afghans in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

In partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, we have provided 84 MTs of assistance and medicines and 32 MTs of social support items for drug rehabilitation programmes, particularly those focused on women. India’s 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.

Mr. President,


India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan. The international community must coordinate efforts towards ensuring that entities & individuals designated by the UN Security Council, the ISIL and Al Qaeda and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e- Mohammed, along with those who facilitate their operations, no longer exploit the Afghan territory for terrorist activities.

On the political front, India’s External Affairs Minister has spoken twice 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.

Mr. President,

Any coherent policy to address a post-conflict situation must combine a incentivizing positive behaviour and disincentivizing harmful actions. Focusing only on punitive measures is unlikely to meet desired results. The United Nations and the international community has adopted more nuanced approaches in other post-conflict contexts. Afghanistan needs a fresh approach with hitherto unused policy instruments to support its people who are in such a dire need. “Business as usual” approach is only expected to maintain status quo-which is not good for Afghanistan and unlikely to meet international community expectations for Afghanistan’s people.

After more than four years of living under a sanctioned regime, the Afghan people have not seen much scope for enhanced development assistance and cooperation. The most unfortunate earthquake has made the situation even more dire. This is the time for compassion, a time for lending a helping hand to millions of Afghanis suffering under the yoke of poverty, disease and hunger.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that our commitment to meeting developmental needs of the people of Afghanistan is non-negotiable. We will continue engaging with all relevant stakeholders and broadly support the international community’s efforts towards a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.

I Thank you Mr. President.