India abstains from voting on Afghanistan at UN, cautions against business-as-usual approach

India abstained from voting at the UN on a Resolution on Afghanistan saying a “businessas usual” approach without new and targeted initiatives is unlikely to deliver the outcomes the international community envisions for Afghan people.

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‘The UNGA resolution on the ‘Situation in Afghanistan’ last night was moved by Germany.” The vote was 116 in favour and two against. Twelve countries including India, Russia, China and Iran abstained.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador P Harish, said in his speech that any coherent policy to address a post-conflict situation must combine a mix of policy instruments — incentivising positive behaviour and dis-incentivising harmful actions.

“An approach focused only on punitive measures is unlikely to succeed,” Ambassador Harish cautioned. He said the United Nations and the broader international community had adopted more balanced and nuanced approaches in other post-conflict contexts. However, no new policy instruments had been introduced to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan since August 2021,