Terrorism and violent extremism lie at the forefront of the inter-linked challenges threatening Afghanistan's security and stability and that of the region, the Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai told the UN Security Council on Friday.

AVA- “We all know that prosperity is not possible in the absence of security, a fundamental requirement in any society. Terrorism and violent extremism lie at the forefront of the inter-linked challenges threatening Afghanistan's security and stability and that of the region,” Karzai said.

In his address to a special ministerial meeting of the Security Council on Afghanistan, Karzai said Afghanistan’s fight against terrorism is being conducted on behalf of the region and the world at large.

“In this struggle, we are making enormous sacrifices, in terms of human lives - ordinary civilians and our security forces alike. Despite all challenges, our forces have made progress in pressing violent militants and terrorists, including the Taliban; the Haqqani network; AI-Qaeda and Daesh, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, among others,” he said.

In the past 10 months alone, Special Forces have carried out more than 2,000 security operations nationwide, which have resulted in major losses among violent militants, including foreign terrorist fighters who come from the region and beyond, he told the Security Council.

Noting that the meeting comes just days after the Security Council's visit to Afghanistan, he said the visit was an opportunity to discuss, broadly, a number of important issues, ranging from security, development and regional cooperation; to governance, human rights, and democratization.

“We are confident the outcome of the visit will factor positively in strengthening the international community's engagement, cooperation and consensus on Afghanistan,” he said.

Karzai said Afghanistan's stability and development should not be seen in isolation from the security and stability of the countries in its periphery and beyond.

“In this regard, the imperative of deepened cooperation between Afghanistan and Central Asian States on common challenges and promoting our shared prosperity has gained new impetus,” he said adding that Afghanistan has always recognized the importance of its relations with all regional countries, especially those of Central Asia.

These bonds have endured on the basis of mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity, shared interests and common affinities of culture and history.

“Despite these positive attributes, we had - during the past years - missed opportunities to elevate the scope of our cooperation for our common security, development and prosperity,” Karzai said.

Addressing the gathering India accused Pakistan of differentiating between good and bad terrorist.

There is a common Afghan saying that roughly translates as "If water is muddied downstream, don't waste your time filtering it; better to go upstream to clean it," the Indian Ambassador to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin said.

“As such, support for voices of peace in Afghanistan alone is not enough. We must focus on addressing the challenges posed by cross border terrorism emanating from safe havens and sanctuaries to our region and especially to Afghanistan,” Akbaruddin said.

“If we do so, the decay, which has been inflicted on Afghanistan, can be made reversible,” he added.