Key Points
- Pakistan urges Taliban to fulfil international obligations.
- Islamabad warns of exercising its right to self-defence.
- Pakistan calls for international support for Afghan refugees.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to fulfil their international obligations, lift restrictions on women and girls and take decisive action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory, warning that continued terrorist activity poses a serious threat to regional security.
Speaking during an interactive dialogue with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan at the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, Pakistan’s Counsellor Muhammad Jawad Ajmal also called on the international community to share responsibility for vulnerable Afghan refugees and support efforts towards a stable and peaceful Afghanistan. He thanked the Special Rapporteur for his report and briefing, expressing concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has called on the Taliban authorities to end restrictions on women and girls, and take decisive action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory
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Women’s rights under fire
Ajmal observed that the denial of fundamental freedoms and basic dignity to women and girls reflected the Taliban’s continued retreat from their international commitments. Such discriminatory and abusive practices, he stressed, were also inconsistent with Islamic laws, traditions and the fundamental tenets of the Muslim faith.
In this context, he recalled that Pakistan had hosted the ninth Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ministerial Conference on Women in Islamabad on July 12-13, 2026. The conference adopted the Islamabad Declaration, expressing concern over restrictions on women and girls and reaffirming the need to advance their rights and empowerment.
Refugee responsibility
Highlighting Pakistan’s longstanding humanitarian contribution, Ajmal noted that the country had hosted millions of Afghan refugees over several decades, often in the absence of adequate international support.
While Pakistan continued to facilitate vulnerable Afghans within its available capacity, he stressed that the international community must step up and share responsibility for addressing the refugee situation.
Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, making it one of the world’s longest-standing refugee-hosting countries. According to a UNHCR refugee response dashboard published in July 2026, Pakistan was hosting more than 2.8 million Afghans at the end of 2025, including refugees and other Afghan populations. Around 70 per cent of the refugee population lived outside designated refugee villages, largely in urban and peri-urban communities.
Terrorists’ safe havens
Turning to the security situation, Ajmal underscored that terrorism remained at the heart of Afghanistan’s challenges. He expressed serious concern over the presence and activities of terrorist groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Majeed Brigade, Al-Qaeda, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and their affiliates, operating from Afghan territory.
He highlighted what he described as a nexus between the Taliban and these groups, as well as the role of external actors supporting proxy elements targeting Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. The Taliban’s continued failure to publicly denounce these groups, he observed, raised serious questions about their complicity and support.
Rising security threat
Counsellor Ajmal stated that more than 4,700 innocent Pakistanis had lost their lives over the past three years alone in terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan.
Referring to Pakistan’s military action on March 16, he stated that Pakistan had precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including drone and ammunition storage facilities used by the TTP to target innocent Pakistani civilians. He underscored that Pakistan could not remain passive in the face of continued terrorist attacks against its people and national security.
He said Pakistan would exercise its right to self-defence, whenever necessary and in accordance with international law, against any threat to its citizens and national security.
Concluding his remarks, Ajmal called upon the Taliban authorities to honour their international commitments and obligations. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan that lives in harmony with itself and its neighbours.
