India to focus on Afghanistan at 61st UNGA

New Delhi, Sep 6 (UNI) India will make an attempt to focus attention on Afghanistan at the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, bringing into sharp focus the issue of terrorism sponsored by Pakistan from across the border into the war-ravaged country.

''Afghanistan is a very important regional issue. There is considerable concern about the movement in and around Afghanistan and along the Southern and South Eastern borders by al Qaeda. This disturbing trend will be made the focus...'' official sources said today.

The sources said that besides Afghanistan, India will also try to focus attention of the international community on issues like the UN reforms and implementation of the decisions arrived at the last year's Summit.

This includes creation of new organs, the Peace-Building Commission, Human Rights Council, the Emergency Response Fund and the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).

Although it has been reported that Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee will represent India at the Summit, the sources said there was no confirmation of the reports yet.

To a question on the CCIT, the sources said it was in a ''very advanced stage'' of negotiations and should be concluded early.

''We have been working at it since 1996. It is a highly politicised subject. There are different approaches...There is now growing acceptance that terrorism is terrorism which needs to be curbed and there can be no selective approaches,'' the sources said.

The international community was of the opinion that there could be no cause that justified terrorism, the sources added.

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