Terrorists enjoy support of Taliban govt in Afghanistan, Pakistan tells UNSC

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram has apprised the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting that terrorists enjoyed the support of Afghanistan’s interim government.

“Pakistan will continue the nationwide crackdown on Fitna al-Khawarij,” Ambassador Akram said while addressing the UNSC forum on Wednesday.

Pakistan has witnessed a significant surge in attacks on security forces in recent months with the militants using advanced weaponry and equipment. Islamabad has time and again called on the interim Afghanistan government to prevent its land from being used by khawarij and other militant organisations, who have carried out cross-border attacks over and over again inside Pakistan.

Pakistan was ready to cooperate with the regional and international organisations, as it wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan, said Pakistan’s UN envoy. “Pakistan is concerned about humanitarian crisis in the neighbouring country. We are determined to increase trade and economic relations with Afghanistan,” Akram said, reiterating Islamabad’s support for the economic recovery of Afghanistan.

The Pakistani envoy said his country was determined to boost trade and economic relations with Kabul. However, he requested the world not to ignore its goals related to Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his serious concern over the series of cross-border terrorist attacks from Afghanistan against Pakistan and asked the Taliban-ruled country to stop those incursions. “We are particularly worried with the fact that there is a penetration of terrorists from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” he said in response to a question at a crowded press conference ahead of next week’s high-level debate at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. The UN chief said that those terrorists attacks were “creating many innocent victims and being a threat to Pakistani security”.To a query, the secretary-general replied: “So one of the things that is absolutely central is that Afghanistan control its territory and doesn’t allow terrorist groups from any other country to operate from Afghanistan.”

A recent United Nations report said that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is “the largest terrorist group” in Afghanistan and receives growing support from that country’s Taliban rulers to conduct cross-border attacks in Pakistan. The UN sanctions monitoring team released the assessment in July amid a surge in TTP-led terror attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians, killing hundreds of them recently.

“TTP continues to operate at a significant scale in Afghanistan and to conduct terrorist operations into Pakistan from there, often utilising Afghans,” the report read. It noted that the globally designated terrorist group is operating in Afghanistan with an estimated strength of 6,000-6,500 fighters. “Further, the Taliban have proved unable or unwilling to manage the threat from TTP, whose attacks into Pakistan have intensified,” the document said, adding Taliban’s support to TTP also appears to have increased. “The Taliban do not conceive of TTP as a terrorist group: the bonds are close, and the debt owed to TTP is significant,” the UN report said. The UN report said regional al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, who have long-term ties to the Taliban, are assisting the TTP in conducting high-profile terrorist activities inside Pakistan.