- Afghan regime providing free environment to terror groups: envoy.
- Envoy Iftikhar calls for tackling “terror threats” from Afghanistan.
- Imperative to prevent weapons falling into hands of terrorists.
NEW YORK: In the aftermath of the deadly attacks carried out by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in Balochistan, Pakistan has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction the militant group.
“We hope the Council will act swiftly to designate BLA under the 1267 sanctions regime, acceding to the listing request that is currently under consideration,” said Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Ambassador Asim Iftikhar while speaking at UNSC briefing titled “Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts”.
The UNSC’s 1267 sanctions regime covers terrorist organisations such as Daesh and Al-Qaeda and requires UN members to adopt measures including freezing of assets, travel ban and arms embargo concerning individuals associated with the designated organisation.
Pakistan’s stance is to be taken in the context of recent coordinated attacks by India-sponsored Fitna al-Hindustan terrorists across parts of Balochistan, which resulted in the martyrdom of at least 22 security personnel and 36 civilians.
Terrorists struck civilians in Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar, and Pasni on January 31. A sweeping counterterrorism crackdown has since left 197 militants dead in the province.
Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti had said around 200 militants attacked different parts of the province, adding that most of them have either been chased out or killed. Bugti said that militants deliberately used civilians as human shields during the attacks.
The attacks, since then, have drawn condemnations from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye, Iran, UAE, France, Canada, the European Union and others.
Condemning the “heinous and cowardly” attacks a day earlier, the UNSC stressed accountability for perpetrators and urged all states to actively cooperate with Pakistan, in line with international law, to counter terrorism.
Terror threat from Afghanistan
Expanding on the menace of terrorism, Ambassador Iftikhar highlighted Pakistan’s role as a frontline state in the global counter-terrorism efforts, sacrificing blood and treasure, with more than 90,000 casualties and staggering economic losses over the years.
Noting Islamabad’s lead role in successfully combating Daesh-Khorasan in the region, the envoy said that “after the Taliban takeover in Kabul, externally sponsored and foreign-funded proxy terrorist groups such as Fitna al Khawarij TTP and Fitna al Hindustan BLA and its Majeed Brigade have got a new lease of life”.
“Operating with virtual impunity from Afghan soil and with the active support of our eastern neighbour, these groups are responsible for heinous terrorist attacks inside Pakistan,” he said.
Reaffirming Islamabad’s resolve to eliminate “this externally sponsored scourge from our soil and exposing the sponsors, financiers, aiders and abettors sitting across our borders,” the UN representative called for effectively tackling the “terrorist threats from Afghanistan”. As documented by the Monitoring Team, the Afghan de facto authorities (DFA) provide a permissive environment for a range of terrorist groups, notably TTP”.
Ambassador Iftikhar also said that Al-Qaeda continues to enjoy the patronage of the Afghan de facto authorities and that Daesh-K remains active with an external focus.
“These terrorist groups pose a threat not only to Pakistan, but to the entire region and beyond. Recent terrorist activity in Central Asia close to the Afghan border has validated earlier warnings. It has become imperative to prevent the billions of dollars of sophisticated weapons and equipment left behind by foreign forces in Afghanistan from falling into the hands of terrorists,” remarked the envoy.
Demanding accountability of external destabilising actors who support, finance and arm these groups, including their proxies in Afghanistan, the diplomat said that there’s a “need to adapt the UN counter terrorism architecture and sanctions regimes to ensure that they adequately respond to current challenges and represent a fair, just and comprehensive mechanism to address the global scourge of terrorism”.
“Counterterrorism policies have so far singled out only the adherents of one religion – that’s Muslims. There is a need to encompass the new and emerging forms of terrorism including white supremacists, far right extremists, violent nationalists, fascists, fascist, xenophobic, Islamophobic and anti-Muslim.”
“Terrorism can be defeated only through unity and cooperation, without any double standards or discrimination,” he added.
Furthermore, the ambassador also pointed out that there must be zero tolerance for state terrorism of the type on crass display in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and other situations of foreign occupation.
Occupation and accompanying repression cannot be masked as counterterrorism to suppress the internationally recognised and UN sanctioned legitimate struggles of peoples against foreign occupation and for their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
