Skip to main content
Amanpour

Afghan, Pakistani and Indian ambassadors unite against terrorism

  • Story Highlights
  • U.N. envoys from Afghanistan, India, Pakistan present united front against terrorism
  • Violence worsening in Afghanistan as U.S. debates troop levels
  • Pakistani envoy: Nation's armed forces stretched due to offensive against insurgents
By Tom Evans
CNN
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

(CNN) -- Three U.N. ambassadors on the front lines of the fight against radical Islamist terrorism presented a united front Thursday against extremism in an unprecedented joint public appearance on a major television news program.

The ambassadors of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that all three countries have the same goal -- to defeat terrorism.

"We all come from the same crucible, the same history, the same background," said Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations. "There may be minor differences; of course there is amongst people. But I think all three of us are well-intentioned."

In comments echoed by the other ambassadors, he added, "We all believe that these countries should get together and try and sort out this situation." The efforts of all, he said, are required "to help each other get through this difficult phase."

Amanpour interviewed the ambassadors amid worsening violence in Afghanistan, an intense debate in the United States about troop levels there, a Pakistani military offensive against the Taliban after a string of terrorist attacks, and India still reeling from the assault on Mumbai almost one year ago.

The Indian ambassador to the United Nations, Hardeep Singh Puri, pointed out that India was very restrained after the Mumbai attack -- an attack that India says was launched from Pakistan.

He indicated -- referencing Pakistan's historic reluctance to move troops away from its border with India -- that this restraint is likely to continue. "There is no suggestion ever that a diversion of Pakistani military assets from one border to the other to fight the people who really need to be fought would result in any Indian adventurism. I don't think that's the kind of ambiance that we are presently in."

Pakistan's recently launched an offensive against Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan. As many as 30,000 Pakistani troops are involved in the operation, the second major push after the military expelled the Taliban from most of the Swat Valley.

Haroon said his country's armed forces are very stretched by the offensives against the Taliban. He said they are short of resources, in part because Western countries have failed to deliver on all their promises of aid.

"I think that the Pakistanis feel there are too many caveats, too many conditionalities, and it does make it sound rather strange that aid is nowhere near the sort of $5 billion to $10 billion we need a year to be able to come back on our own," he said. "This is merely adding a crutch. Is that what we need at this time, a crutch? Or do we need something more promising?"

Ambassador Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan tried to persuade those Americans who are skeptical that they should continue supporting the war in his country. A Washington Post-ABC News poll this week showed voters are deeply and evenly split over whether to send an additional 40,000 troops there, as the U.S. commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, says is needed.

"Nowadays, after these elections, I think both the leadership in Afghanistan and our friends and partners focused on how the new elections will bring more legitimacy to Afghanistan. So we are not against that debate," he said, referencing the runoff that will take place on November 7 between President Hamid Karzai and his main challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

advertisement

All three ambassadors said it is vital that the United States send more troops to Afghanistan to help win the fight against terrorism. Puri, the Indian ambassador, said, "You cannot have a fight against international terrorism which is compartmentalized. The snakes that bite us wherever come from the same pit."

He added, "You cannot do Faustian deals with terrorist groups, so I think you need a comprehensive international movement against the terrorists, and I hope that all of us who are involved in this will carry this fight through until the end so that all of us are victors in this."

All About India

  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print