UNITED NATIONS: Pak­istan told the UN Sec­u­rity Council that despite promises, the Afghan int­erim government has not acted “decisively” to halt cross-border terrorist atta­cks by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that have resulted in hundreds of civilian and military casualties.

“The highest priority for the international commun­ity, for Afghanistan’s neig­h­bours and for Afgha­nis­tan itself remains the elimination of terrorism within and from Afghanis­tan,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Munir Akram said in a debate on the situation in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, he said, had repeatedly conveyed to the Afghan Taliban — at very senior levels — to act decisively to end the banned TTP’s attacks, disarm its fighters, capture and hand over the terrorists to Pakistan.

“Unfortunately, despite promises, no meaningful action has been taken so far. TTP safe havens rem­ain close to Pakistan’s borders. Cross-border attacks have continued, including one by a TTP associate that killed several Chinese engineers working on the Dasu hydro power project,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Security Council.

“The impunity which some of these terrorist gro­ups seem to enjoy within Afghanistan poses a dire and direct threat to all of Afghanistan’s neighbours as well as to the international community.”

Ambassador Akram urged the UNSC to call on the Afghan Taliban government to sever its links with the outlawed TTP and its associates; prevent them from carrying out cross-border attacks against Pakistan; disarm the TTP terrorists and hand over its leadership to Pakistan.

At the outset, he said Pakistan had consistently advocated for sustained engagement with the Afghan interim authorities to normalise the situation in that country.

While welcoming the Afghan Taliban’s announced decision to participate in the upcoming UN-sponsored meeting in Doha, Ambassador Akram underlined the need for both the international community and Kabul to be clear about the overall objectives they seek. “Unless we know where we are going, we will never get there,” he remarked.

For its part, the Pakistani envoy said the international community was obliged to help the 23 million Afghans, who need urgent aid, and to take adequate measures to bolster Afghanistan’s economy including reviving the national banking system and restoring commercial activity.

The Afghan Taliban must also take steps to abide by their international obligations, he said, noting that the world remained concerned about restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan.

Earlier opening the debate, Roza Otunbayeva, Special Repres­entative of the Secretary General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, expressed the hope that at the third Doha meeting, scheduled to take place in nine days, key stakeholders will convene around the table, speak to each other face to face, reinforce the principles underlining the consensus to engage, and agree on next steps to alleviate the uncertainties that face the Afghan people. However, she warned, Doha moot had already generated significant expectations that could not be met in a single meeting.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2024