Pakistan says some Taliban facilitating movement of militant groups

Pakistan said on Thursday that elements within the Taliban rank and file were supporting terrorist groups and allowing them safe passage to operate in Pakistan.

Addressing a debate in New York on the situation in Afghanistan today, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad highlighted Islamabad’s concerns about security, humanitarian, and socio-economic challenges emerging from Afghanistan.

“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 neutralised in Pakistan during counter-terror operations,” he said.

He said that terrorism emanating from Afghan soil posed the gravest threat to Pakistan’s national security and sovereignty.

The representtive said that terrorist groups, including the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and the Majeed Brigade, enjoyed safe haven in Afghanistan.

He shared that Pakistan had successfully thwarted multiple infiltration attempts by TTP and BLA terrorists from across Afghanistan, confiscating caches of military grade equipment left behind by international forces in Afghanistan.

“Elements within the Taliban rank and file are supporting these terrorist groups and allowing them safe passage to operate with impunity and free will. There is also credible 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,” he said.

DG ISPR says Afghan Taliban facilitate cross-border attacks

The ambassador also urged the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to strengthen efforts to prevent illicit arms trade and provide an objective assessment of border security, emphasising that cross-border terrorism was the primary issue behind border clashes between the two countries.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terrorist activities since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused its neighbour of harbouring militants that launch cross-border attacks, charges the Afghan government denies.

In November, during a briefing with senior journalists, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that 12,857 intelligence-based operations were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and 53,309 in Balochistan province, during which a total of 1,873 terrorists were killed this year, including 136 Afghans.