- TTP relies on Taliban support as attacks intensify: Denmark.
- China supports the UN’s inclusion of the BLA and the Majeed Brigade as terrorist groups.
- Pakistan says it sacrificed a tough fight against terrorism for decades.
The head of the UN Security Council’s Daesh and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee has backed Pakistan’s position that Afghan territory is being used to carry out terrorist attacks in the country, warning that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) poses a serious threat to regional security.
Denmark’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Sandra Jensen Landi, as chair of the committee, submitted a report to the UN Security Council, stating that the terrorist group has carried out numerous high-profile attacks in Pakistan from Afghan soil, some of which resulted in mass casualties.
He said the TTP, with its approximately 6,000 fighters, is a serious threat emanating from the region and receives logistical and substantial support from “de facto” authorities.
Landi made that statement as the 15-member Council was briefed by the heads of three of its subsidiary bodies – dealing with Daesh/Al-Qaeda, United Nations counter-terrorism efforts and measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction among non-state actors – and heard that the threat posed by terrorism continues to evolve, especially in Africa, as malign actors exploit new technologies to pursue dangerous ends.
Islamabad and Kabul are witnessing rising tensions amid the Afghan Taliban regime’s reluctance to act against terrorist groups operating from its territory, against a backdrop of increasing terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
Commenting on the report, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Usman Jadoon said the country has made invaluable sacrifices in its efforts to eradicate this menace, with more than 80,000 victims and billions of dollars in economic losses.
Al-Qaeda, he added, was decimated largely due to Pakistan’s efforts.
“Our gallant security forces and law enforcement agencies continue to counter the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan, where entities like ISIL-K, TTP and its affiliates, BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army) and its Majeed Brigade are thriving under the patronage of their hosts and backed by our main adversary and net destabilizer in the region,” he said, without naming India.
Ambassador Jadoon said the 1267 Committee’s sanctions regime must “reflect the realities on the ground”, and that issues relating to listing and delisting must be addressed “in a fair, transparent and judicious manner and without political considerations”.
The Pakistani envoy also stressed that to adopt a zero-tolerance approach, the UN counter-terrorism architecture “must also possess the necessary tools to designate violent, far-right, ultra-nationalist, xenophobic and Islamophobic groups around the world.”
On the other hand, China’s representative urged the committee members to support the listing of the Balochistan Liberation Army and its Majeed Brigade, “sending a strong signal of zero tolerance towards terrorism.”
Islamabad-Kabul tensions
Tensions between the two neighboring nations rose when Taliban forces and the Indian-backed TTP, also known as Fitna al-Khawarij, resorted to an unprovoked attack on Pakistan on October 12.
The Pakistan Armed Forces gave an adequate response to the aggression, killing more than 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants in a self-defense action.
The army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said 23 soldiers embraced martyrdom in clashes with Taliban forces and terrorists.
In addition, security forces also carried out “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and the capital Kabul, as well as in the border areas of the North and South Waziristan districts, successfully destroying multiple strongholds in response to the aggression.
The two sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire during the Doha talks on October 19 and subsequently held several meetings in Istanbul, with Pakistan aiming to devise a mechanism to stop cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.
The Istanbul talks could not produce the desired results due to the stubbornness of the Afghan side as Kabul used the Istanbul talks to defame Pakistan instead of addressing Islamabad’s main concern about terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.
