At the ongoing United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting, Foreign Secretary of India Harsh Vardhan Shringla condemned the Taliban’s killing of Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui on Friday.
Speaking during the UNSC meeting on protection of civilians in armed conflict, Shringla said, as quoted by PTI, “The Dharma-based norms for armed conflict in ancient India were founded on the principle of humanity and humanitarian norms and had many rules protecting civilians during conflict. High importance was attached to distinguishing combatants and non-combatants during armed conflicts.”
“We condemn the killing of an Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui while he was on a reporting assignment in Kandahar in Afghanistan. I extend our sincerest condolences to his grieving family,” the foreign secretary added.
The body of Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in Afghanistan’s Kandahar, has been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by the Taliban on Friday.
“We have been informed that the body has been handed over by the Taliban to the ICRC,” a source in the Indian Embassy in Kabul said.
Danish Siddiqui, who was on a reporting assignment embedded with the Afghan Special Forces, was killed when clashes broke out between the security forces and Taliban fighters in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city.
The Indian Embassy in Kabul has informed that it is in touch with the Afghan authorities to bring back the mortal remains of the Reuters photojournalist.
“We are actively facilitating the return of the body in coordination with Afghan authorities and the ICRC. We are in regular touch with family members of Danish Siddiqui,” the embassy source in Kabul said.
Earlier, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the government is in touch with the photojournalist’s family.
The Foreign Secretary told the UN Security Council that the humanitarian law principles found their existence in India long before modern humanitarian jurisprudence evolved. India had followed the path of ‘Dharma’ or ‘Righteous Conduct’ and provided refuge to persecuted people over centuries.
