Key Points
- UN issues firm warning to Afghan Taliban
- Terror groups active on Afghan soil, members say
- Pakistan cites rise in cross-border attacks
- Taliban urged to meet counterterrorism commitments
- Regional peace at risk without decisive action
NEW YORK: The international community has issued a strong and unequivocal warning to the Afghan Taliban during a United Nations Security Council meeting, expressing deep concern over the regime’s failure to fulfil its counterterrorism commitments.
During the session, multiple countries warned that Afghanistan has once again become a hub for terrorist organisations, with militant groups operating freely under the Taliban’s watch and posing serious threats to regional and international security, including Pakistan and neighbouring states.
China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Fu Cong, cautioned that terrorist groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and others remain active on Afghan soil and are involved in cross-border attacks against neighbouring countries.
Denmark’s UN representative, Christina Markus Lassen, stressed that the Taliban must play a meaningful role in dismantling terrorist networks, including Al-Qaeda and the TTP, and ensure that Afghan territory is not used to threaten other states.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar, told the Security Council that there has been a sharp increase in terrorist attacks against Pakistan originating from Afghanistan. He attributed this escalation to the Taliban’s ineffective and insufficient counterterrorism measures.
He further stated that attacks against Pakistan are being planned, facilitated and financed from Afghan territory under Taliban oversight, adding that Pakistan has already provided the international community with irrefutable evidence of Afghan soil being repeatedly used for terrorism against the country.
The United States representative also urged the Security Council to formally warn the Taliban over the lack of progress on their counterterrorism pledges and called for accountability. Panama’s UN representative, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, voiced concern over rising armed incidents linked to TTP, Daesh and other militant groups operating in Afghanistan, highlighting the growing threat to regional stability.
Iran’s UN Ambassador, Saeid Iravani, warned the Taliban that Afghan territory must not be used for terrorism or violence against any neighbouring country. He stressed that Afghanistan’s interim authorities must take full responsibility for preventing all forms of support to terrorist groups.
Speakers at the meeting agreed that lasting peace in the region remains unattainable unless terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan are dismantled. They warned that the Taliban regime’s continued backing of extremist elements and its security failures pose serious risks to regional peace and stability.
The Security Council discussions underscored growing international frustration over the Taliban’s inability — or unwillingness — to curb militant activity, reinforcing calls for concrete and verifiable counterterrorism actions by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities.
