UN Security Council strongly condemns attack on Indian mission

, May 24: The UN Security Council has unanimously condemned in the strongest terms the attack on the Indian Consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province, underlining the need to bring perpetrators and sponsors of the "reprehensible" acts to justice.

"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack on May 23 on the Indian consulate in Herat province, Afghanistan," a press statement issued here by the powerful 15-nation Council said yesterday. The UNSC "condemned acts of violence against diplomatic and consular representatives, which endanger or take innocent lives and seriously impede the normal work of such representatives and officials."

The Council members reiterated that "no terrorist act can reverse the path towards Afghan-led peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan, which is supported by the people and the Government of Afghanistan and the international community.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Afghan authorities in this regard," the statement added. The statement was unanimously adopted by the Council, with India getting strong support from the five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - who said there certainly should be condemnation of the attack in Herat.

Apart from China, Australia and Nigeria from among the non-permanent members were particularly vocal in their support and stood by India in getting the press statement adopted. While a press statement is not legally binding, it does reflect the concern of the powerful UN body.

The UNSC condemnation comes even as the UN General Assembly is holding consultations on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The outcome of this fourth review of the GCTS is expected on June 12. In the attack, four heavily-armed gunmen launched an assault on the complex of the consulate and were subsequently killed in an encounter yesterday.

All Indian diplomatic staff and local personnel inside the two-building complex were unharmed in the attack that was repulsed by India's ITBP and Afghan security forces. Earlier, UN chief Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that the UN "obviously" condemns these attacks "whether on civilians or on diplomatic representations."

PTI