ISLAMABAD: A United Nations Security Council report released this month confirmed Pakistan’s long-standing claim that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is operating from Afghanistan with significant backing from the Taliban administration in Kabul, while warning that the group could evolve into an extra-regional threat.

Pakistan has frequently accused Afghanistan of sheltering proscribed armed factions, such as the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), while also pointing a finger at the administration in Kabul for “facilitating” their attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces.

The issue has become a key sticking point between the two neighbors, leading to fierce border clashes last year in which dozens were killed on both sides before Pakistan shut its frontier with Afghanistan.

The 37th report of the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said Afghanistan’s de facto authorities continued to provide a “permissive environment” for several armed groups, notably TTP.

“TTP operates as one of the largest terrorist groups in Afghanistan and its attacks on Pakistani security forces and State structures led to military confrontation,” the report said. “Attacks were increasingly complex and, at times, involved large numbers of fighters.”

“Some Member States expressed concern that TTP may deepen its cooperation with Al-Qaeda-aligned groups in order to attack a wider range of targets, potentially resulting in an extra-regional threat,” it added.

The report noted that an attack on an Islamabad courthouse on Nov. 11 that killed 12 people and was claimed by a TTP splinter group marked “the first attack in the capital for several years.”

The report said TTP “was accorded greater liberty and support from the de facto authorities [in Afghanistan], and consequently TTP attacks against Pakistan increased, amplifying regional tensions.”

It also stated that Al-Qaeda continued to enjoy patronage from the de facto authorities and acted as a “service provider and multiplier” for other groups, principally TTP, offering training and advice.

Several UN member states also observed the proliferation of sophisticated weapons from stockpiles left behind by the United States-led coalition, which withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, had enhanced the lethality of TTP attacks against Pakistani forces, according to the report.