DNA

UNITED NATIONS, A top Pakistani diplomat Monday denounced India, which as President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), again blocked Pakistan from participating in the 15-member Council’s meeting on Afghanistan, saying Pakistan has a vital stake in peace and stability of the war-torn country where the Taliban have now taken control of the government.

“It is most regrettable that Pakistan’s request to participate in the Security Council meeting was once again blocked by the Indian Presidency,” Ambassador Munir Akram told reporters after the conclusion of the council meeting, while also questioning the move to give the floor to the representative of Afghanistan’s defunct regime of Ashraf Ghani who has fled the the country.

The Security Council, he said, has been denied an “important perspective and vital input that could be helpful in restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region,” he said, noting that Pakistan was also blocked from participating in the Council meeting on Afghanistan on August 6, as well.