Terrorism operating from Afghanistan remains the “gravest threat” to Pakistan’s national security, a senior Pakistani diplomat told the UN Security Council Wednesday, as he exhorted the Taliban authorities to fulfill their international obligations on counterterrorism.
“The TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan), with nearly 6,000 fighters, remains the largest UN-designated terrorist group on Afghan soil,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the U.N., said in a debate on the situation in Afghanistan.
Pakistan, he said, had thwarted multiple infiltration attempts of TTP and BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army) terrorists from across Afghanistan, confiscating significant caches of sophisticated military grade modern equipment left behind by international forces in Afghanistan– mainly weapons abandoned by the departing US troops.
“These efforts come at a heavy price – huge sacrifices by our valiant security forces and civilians,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said, referring to the martyrdom of 12 Pakistani soldiers in a single incident just this month while they were defending the borders.
“This situation is intolerable,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council.
Terrorist entities, including ISIL-K/Da’esh, Al-Qaeda, TTP, BLA, and its Majeed Brigade, he said, operate from Afghan sanctuaries, with more than 60 such terrorist camps serving as hubs for enabling cross-border infiltration and attacks.
“We have credible evidence of collaboration among these terrorist groups through joint training, illicit weapons trade, refuge to terrorists, and coordinated attacks – all aimed at targeting civilian and law enforcement agencies and disrupting and sabotaging infrastructure and development projects in Pakistan.”
He called for swift action on the proposal by China and Pakistan in the UNSC’s 1267 Sanctions Committee to designate the BLA and Majeed Brigade as terrorist organizations. On its part, the United States has already listed the two terrorist outfits.
Recalling that Pakistan has “consistently advocated sustained engagement with Afghanistan”, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad stressed that the Taliban sanctions regime must not “fall prey to political considerations of Council members”.
Specifically, travel-ban-exemption requests remain crucial for meaningful engagement, he said, recalling the recent quadrilateral meeting between Pakistan, China, Iran, and the Russian Federation in Dushanbe, “where we agreed on result-oriented engagement” with Afghanistan’s interim authorities.
Urging international engagement with clear objectives, reciprocal steps and a “realistic road map guided by dialogue and diplomacy”, he underscored: “Isolation and disengagement serves no one’s interest.”
He also said that “Continued restrictions on (Afghan) women and girls are inconsistent with Islamic traditions and norms of Muslim society.”
With conflict in Afghanistan now having ended, many Afghans, whom Pakistan had hosted for decades, have been repatriated in a dignified, phased, and orderly manner, the Pakistani envoy said.
Pakistan has also instituted a liberal visa regime that enables a large number of Afghans to be in Pakistan, legally, for various purposes, including family links, education, medical, and business.
“While we will continue to extend all possible assistance to our Afghan brothers and sisters, the international community must shoulder its responsibility and take the necessary steps to ameliorate the conditions and share this burden more equitably,” he said. “International partners must fulfill their obligations also with regard to their commitments – that are in fact long delayed and unkept – including for third country resettlements.”
As immediate neighbours bound by geography, culture, and history, no country desires peace and stability in Afghanistan more than Pakistan, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said.
“And no country has suffered from the consequences of decades of conflict in Afghanistan more than Pakistan. We therefore remain committed to supporting a peaceful, prosperous Afghanistan – for the sake of our region and in the best interest of the world.”
At the outset, the UN’s outgoing envoy warned that Afghanistan is confronting “a perfect storm” of overlapping crises.
Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, told the Council that while the country has seen a relative decline in armed conflict since the Taliban takeover in 2021, the humanitarian, economic, and human rights situation has deteriorated significantly.
“It is an open question whether there is sufficient pragmatism among the de facto authorities [the Taliban] to manage this perfect storm of crises, or whether decisions driven by ideology will prevent sustainable solutions,” she said.
Central to the crisis, Ms. Otunbayeva stressed, are sweeping Taliban restrictions on Afghan women and girls.
Schools for girls above grade six have now been closed for four years, costing the economy an estimated $1.4 billion annually, according to the World Bank. A recent UN Women survey found that most Afghans oppose the bans.
“This is most clear regarding the de facto authorities’ policies towards Afghan women,” she said. “A generation is at serious risk of being lost at a huge long-term cost to the country.”
