Islamabad raises Afghan terrorism concerns at UN Security Council

WASHINGTON: Pakistan on Wednesday told the UN Security Council that various terrorist outfits continue to maintain a presence in Afghanistan through safe havens, which continues to pose a security challenge for the entire region.

Addressing the UNSC brief on threats to international peace and security due to terrorist attacks, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in a detailed address, also mentioned about Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion when the UNSC was meeting in its 7th anniversary of the decision taken by India on August 5, 2019, to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special constitutional status.

According to Ambassador Asim, the steps taken on that date amounted to a new phase of oppression and violence against the Kashmiri people and Pakistan accused India of practicing ‘state terrorism’ against Kashmiris.

He said that the international community needs to show zero tolerance for such actions and the counterterrorism measures cannot be allowed to be misused as a tool to suppress the struggle for self-determination.

The mention of Kashmir was a part of a discussion on terrorism and regional security, in which Ambassador Ahmad largely focused on the terrorism-related threats emanating from Afghanistan-based terrorists’ groups.

His statement before the UNSC came in the wake of the fourth session of the US-Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue, which took place on Tuesday in Washington DC and in which both the countries committed to fighting against the terrorist organizations and enhancing cooperation on security.

In his speech before the UNSC, Ahmad said that the efforts taken internationally against terrorism had made significant damage to the capacity of groups like the militant Islamic State, but the threat of terrorism is evolving especially in parts of Africa, Middle East and Afghanistan.

The IS-Khorasan (IS-K) in Afghanistan has been hit hard because of the counterterrorist operations of Pakistan but still remains a major security threat, he said. “The situation in Afghanistan remains deeply alarming,” Ambassador Ahmad said.