UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan urged the United Nations on Wednesday to hold the Afghan Taliban accountable for preventing terrorist groups from using Afghan territory as safe havens, telling the Security Council that militants continue planning attacks against Pakistan.
Addressing a Security Council meeting, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has warned the United Nations Security Council that several militant groups continue to operate from Afghanistan, urging the Taliban administration to prevent Afghan soil from being used for terrorism.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said terrorist organisations, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and its Majeed Brigade, Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), Al-Qaeda-linked groups and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), have enjoyed safe havens in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
He said the groups recruit, train and plan attacks from Afghanistan before targeting Pakistan, adding that they also receive financial and other support from Pakistan’s eastern neighbor.
The envoy recalled last week’s suicide bombing in Pakistan’s Swat district, which killed 16 people, and blamed the TTP for the attack.
Ahmad said Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations had weakened IS-K, but warned the group remained a serious threat in Afghanistan.
He called terrorism a transnational challenge requiring stronger international cooperation, improved border management, enhanced law enforcement capacity and efforts to cut off terrorist financing.
Pakistan Repeatedly Raises TTP Threat at UN
The ambassador also warned that militant groups were increasingly exploiting modern technologies, including drones, social media, artificial intelligence, digital wallets and cryptocurrencies, to recruit fighters, raise funds and plan attacks.
He urged the international community to ensure that the Taliban administration fulfills its responsibility to prevent Afghan territory from being used by any terrorist group against Pakistan or any other country, and called for those supporting or financing terrorism to be held accountable.
Referring to Indian-administered Kashmir, Ahmad said Aug. 5 marked the seventh anniversary of India’s unilateral actions in the disputed region. He described those measures as an example of state terrorism and urged the international community to adopt a zero-tolerance approach against state-sponsored terrorism wherever it occurred.
He said the fight against terrorism required a comprehensive, coordinated and multilateral strategy free from double standards, adding that Pakistan would continue contributing to global counterterrorism efforts.
