ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the UN Security Council on Wednesday more than 60 militant camps operate inside Afghanistan, serving as launch pads for cross-border attacks that target civilians and security forces while urging the international community to improve the dire humanitarian situation facing ordinary Afghans.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan and blames the Afghan Taliban for enabling their strikes, a charge that Kabul denies. Islamabad began deporting illegal immigrants, mostly Afghan nationals, two years ago citing these security concerns.
Addressing a Council debate on Afghanistan, Pakistan’s UN ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed raised noted the Taliban have been in power for more than four years – ending civil war for the first time in four decades – yet the country’s political and economic situation “remains deeply worrying.”
“The Taliban authorities must fulfill their international obligations on counter terrorism,” Ahmed said. “Terrorism emanating from Afghanistan remains the gravest threat to Pakistan’s national security. Terrorist entities including ISIL-K [Islamic State Khorasan], Al-Qaeda, TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], ETIM [East Turkestan Islamic Movement], BLA [Baloch Liberation Army] and the Majeed Brigade operate from Afghan sanctuaries, with more than 60 such terrorist camps serving as hubs for enabling cross-border infiltration and attacks.”
He added Pakistan had “credible evidence of collaboration among these terrorist groups through joint training, illicit weapons trade, refuge to terrorists and coordinated attacks, all aimed at targeting civilian and law enforcement agencies and disrupting and sabotaging infrastructure and development projects in Pakistan.”
Ahmed also painted a bleak picture of Afghanistan’s economy, pointing to a collapsed banking system, persistent poverty and human rights concerns.
He said the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan had received only 27 percent of the required $2.42 billion and called on the world to “close this gap and ease the suffering of ordinary Afghans caught in a political impasse and divergent policies.”
The Pakistani diplomat emphasized stabilizing Afghanistan’s economy, reviving its banking sector, preventing poppy cultivation and unfreezing the country’s financial assets were crucial steps.
“No country desires peace and stability in Afghanistan more than Pakistan,” Ahmad added. “And no country has suffered from the consequences of decades of conflict in Afghanistan, more than Pakistan. We therefore remain committed to supporting a peaceful, prosperous Afghanistan, for the sake of our region and in the best interest of the world.”
