Pakistan voices concern of ‘terror threats’ linked to Afghanistan

Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council to take stronger action against alleged terrorist groups it says are operating from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.

Addressing a Council meeting on Afghanistan on Tuesday, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, named groups including Al Qaeda, IS-Khorasan (Daesh), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and Baloch insurgents such as the BLA and Majeed Brigade as active threats across the border.

He said militant networks pose the gravest threat to its national security.

“We have credible evidence of collaboration among these groups through joint training, illicit weapons trade, refuge to terrorists, and coordinated attacks,” Ahmed claimed.

He also stated that more than 60 militant camps currently serve as hubs for infiltration into Pakistan, targeting civilians, security forces, and development projects.

In addition, Ahmed claimed that the threat extends into cyberspace, citing nearly 70 propaganda accounts linked to Afghan IP addresses spreading extremist messaging.

He called on social media platforms to work more closely with governments to curb online extremist networks.

Ahmed also highlighted Pakistan and China’s joint request to the Security Council’s 1267 Sanctions Committee to formally designate the BLA and Majeed Brigade as terrorist organizations. He pressed the Council to act swiftly.

Turning to the TTP, Ahmed described it as the largest UN-designated group operating in Afghanistan, with nearly 6,000 fighters. He said Pakistan had prevented multiple infiltration attempts and seized caches of advanced military equipment left behind after the international

withdrawal from Afghanistan. “These efforts come at a heavy price … just this month, 12 Pakistani soldiers were martyred in a single incident,” he noted.

Ahmed’s remarks came just days after Afghanistan’s Defense Minister, Mohammad Yaqoub Mujahid, rejected claims that Afghan territory is being used to threaten other nations. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate remains committed to the Doha Agreement with the United States and that Afghan soil will not be misused against any country.

“No one can provide evidence that the United States, its allies, or any other country has been threatened from Afghanistan during this period,” Mujahid said. He added that while Afghanistan has no military agreements with any state, the government’s policy is to prevent its territory from being used against neighbors.