Afghanistan once again turns terrorists' heaven: Pakistani envoy at UN Security Council

NEW YORK: Pakistan’s permanent representative has warned that Afghanistan has once again become a stronghold for terrorist group.

“Afghanistan is once again a safe sanctuary for terrorist groups and proxies, with devastating consequences and mounting security challenges for its immediate neighbours, particularly Pakistan, and the region and beyond,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said during a debate on the situation in that country.

“Terrorist entities including ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, TTP, ETIM, BLA and Majeed Brigade enjoy safe havens in Afghanistan’s territory, with dozens of terrorist camps enabling cross-border infiltration and violent attacks including suicide bombings,” he said, adding there was evidence of collaboration among these terrorist groups through joint training, illicit weapons trade, refuge to terrorists, and coordinated attacks against Pakistan using the Afghan soil.

“And not surprisingly, one detractor in the region, opportunist, and spoiler, as ever has moved fast to intensify its sponsorship of terrorist activity through material, technical and financial support, to terrorist groups and proxies active against Pakistan from Afghan soil,” the Pakistani envoy said in an obvious reference to India, whose relations with Taliban have significantly improved leading to reopening of the Indian embassy in Kabul.

Indeed, India’s speech in the Council was in sharp contract to its past denunciation of Taliban policies. India, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said, “deeply values its civilizational relationship and centuries old bonds of friendship with Afghanistan, and this history continues to guide our actions in forging deeper ties” with Afghans.

In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Ahmad, the Pakistani envoy, said that Pakistan had engaged with the Taliban authorities regularly over the past four years, but regrettably instead of seeing them take concrete, effective and decisive actions against terrorist groups, “we saw a steep surge in terrorist attacks against Pakistan; planned, financed and orchestrated using Afghan soil under their watch.”

“Just this year alone, we have lost close to 1,200 lives to terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. Since 2022, more than 214 Afghan terrorists including suicide bombers have been neutralized in Pakistan during CT (counter terrorism) operations.”

He linked border clashes directly to terrorism and security, and urged UNAMA (UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) to provide an objective assessment of border security.

Pakistan has supported the dialogue process in Doha and Istanbul, the Pakistani envoy said. But if the Taliban does not take concrete and verifiable action against terrorist groups, Pakistan will take all necessary defensive measures.

Having hosted Afghan refugees for over four decades, Pakistan also believes that Afghans should return to their country in a dignified and orderly manner, he

Ambassador Asim Ahmad also said that the Taliban’s continued restrictions on women and girls were “inconsistent with Islamic traditions and norms of Muslim society as also highlighted by OIC countries on several occasions.”

Pakistan, he said, fully shares the concerns of the international community on the issue of human rights, particularly women and girls rights in Afghanistan.

“No country desires peace and stability in Afghanistan more than Pakistan,” the Pakistani envoy added, urging the Taliban to promote a conducive environment for sincere dialogue, address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns, and come out of a “state of denial” that serves no one.