KARACHI:
A report by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has said that attacks on Pakistan by the banned terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghanistan have increased, supporting Islamabad’s long-standing complaints about militant sanctuaries across the border.
The 37th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, dated February 4, not only supported Islamabad’s position that Afghanistan had become a haven for militants using its territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, but also came at a time when the country is facing a renewed wave of violence.
Last week, at least 33 people were killed and around 169 others injured when a suicide bomber struck Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra during Friday prayers. The security forces also concluded “Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1” in Balochistan following coordinated attacks by terrorists. According to the military, 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed during the operations, while 22 people from the security forces and law enforcement agencies “made the ultimate sacrifice”. It said 216 terrorists were also “sent to hell”.
According to the UN report, the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan remained a source of concern in Central and South Asia.
“There was an increase in attacks in Pakistan launched by the TTP (Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan) in Afghanistan, leading to military exchanges. Regional relations remained fragile. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K) was under sustained counter-terrorist pressure, but it retained a potent capability, combined with an external operational intent to execute.”
The report also highlighted concerns among regional countries over the number of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and spillover effects, including cross-border attacks and radicalization of vulnerable domestic communities.
It said Afghan de facto authorities claimed there were no terrorist groups within Afghanistan’s borders, but it said “no member state supported this view”.
It further said: “The de facto authorities continued to act against ISIL-K and control the external activities of some other groups. However, the TTP was granted greater freedom and support from the de facto authorities and consequently TTP attacks against Pakistan increased, intensifying regional tensions.”
The report also said Al Qaeda continued to enjoy the patronage of de facto authorities and acted as a service provider and multiplier for other terrorist groups in Afghanistan through training and advice, primarily to the TTP.
It further added that the TTP operated as one of the largest terrorist groups in Afghanistan and its attacks on Pakistani security forces and state structures led to military confrontation. Attacks became increasingly complex and sometimes involved large numbers of fighters, it noted.
The report cited an attack on a courthouse in Islamabad on November 11 that resulted in 12 deaths and was claimed by a TTP splinter group. It described the incident as the first attack in the capital in several years and a departure from the TTP’s earlier targeting.
“Some member states expressed concern that the TTP may deepen its cooperation with Al Qaeda-aligned groups to attack a wider range of targets, potentially resulting in an extra-regional threat.”
The report described Pakistan’s actions against the TTP as a major setback for the group.
“TTP suffered several operational setbacks, notably the death of Mufti Muzahim (TTP vice-emir, not listed) in a Pakistani operation in October,” it said.
The report also drew attention to a series of attacks by the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) against Pakistani security forces and projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“On September 16, the BLA ambushed a Pakistani military convoy patrolling the corridor, killing 32 soldiers. While counterterrorism operations by Pakistan limited the BLA’s operational space, it remained active.”
It added that some member states reported that the BLA cooperated with the TTP and ISIL-K through shared training camps and resources, coordination of attacks and meetings between commanders. Some member states assessed that there was neither an association nor growing ties between the BLA and Al Qaeda or ISIL.
The report said various groups in Afghanistan had acquired modern weapons and equipment through cross-border smuggling and black market trade.
“The TTP used advanced assault rifles, night vision equipment, thermal imaging equipment, sniper systems and drone strike systems. Most of these were provided by the de facto authorities in connection with weapons permits and travel documents,” it said.
However, the report emphasized that several member states noted that continued proliferation of weapons from stockpiles left behind by former partners in the global coalition against Daesh had increased the lethality of TTP attacks against Pakistan’s security forces.
The report stated that member states remained concerned about potential flows of fighters, including from Central Asia, towards Afghanistan or Africa.
It said Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) remained active in southeastern Afghanistan, where the Haqqani network exerted significant influence. Osama Mahmoud, the “emir” of AQIS, and Yahya Ghauri, his deputy, were reported to be in Kabul, with AQIS’s media cell based in Herat.
According to the report, ISIL-K remained under significant pressure, mainly from security operations by regional states, but retained strong operational capacity and the ability to rebuild its ranks, including through online recruitment,
The report said ISIL-K was able to quickly replace fighters and maintain combat capability despite continued counterterrorism operations.
“The pressure campaign pushed ISIL-K to seek alliances with other armed factions in various areas of Afghanistan,” it said.
It added that ISIL-K was mainly active in northern Afghanistan, particularly Badakhshan, and in areas close to the Pakistan border. The report said the group continued to expand its network of cells to project a threat in the region and beyond.
Separately, the report said that members of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP) were able to move freely in Afghanistan under the patronage of the de facto authorities.
“Under the de facto authorities’ patronage, which included issuing identity documents, ETIM/TIP members were able to move freely in Afghanistan and have gradually concentrated in Badakhshan,” it said.
According to one member state mentioned in the report, ETIM/TIP members raised funds from poppy cultivation and mining. The report said around 250 members were reported to have joined the Taliban’s police forces by 2025.
It also quoted a member state as saying that ETIM/TIP in Afghanistan encouraged its members in the Syrian Arab Republic and neighboring countries to move to Afghanistan in preparation for “returning to Xinjiang for jihad”.
The UN assessment said there was no information to suggest any large-scale movement of foreign terrorist fighters from the Syrian Arab Republic to Afghanistan, although a few isolated cases were reported.
It said Central Asian states in particular remain concerned about the potential risk of Central Asian fighters moving to northern Afghanistan to plot attacks against their homelands.
The report also said there were reports of foreign terrorist fighters being trained in dedicated camps in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.
Pakistan’s accusations against Afghanistan, India for supporting terrorism
Pakistan has repeatedly pointed to a link between Afghanistan and India behind terrorism in the country. The interior minister said earlier this week that the mastermind behind the attack was an Afghan national linked to Daesh.
In November 2024, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had issued a warning that the Afghan regime was a threat not just to Pakistan but to the entire region and the world, citing the abandonment of US military equipment worth $7.2 billion during the US withdrawal.
Lt Gen Chaudhry reiterated that the Afghan regime harbored “non-state actors” who posed a threat to various countries in the region, noting that the Taliban had not established an inclusive state and government after 2021. He stressed that Pakistan’s problem was with the Afghan Taliban regime, not the Afghan people.
After the May 2025 standoff with India, Field Marshal Asim Munir had said that Pakistan would never be coerced and that any hostile plans to derail the country’s fight against terrorism would be “comprehensively defeated”.
Last year in August, the UN’s 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee Monitoring Team’s annual report said outlaw terrorist groups – the BLA, including its Majeed Brigade, and the TTP – had “close coordination”.
The report said regional relations remained fragile and that “there was a risk that terrorist groups could exploit these regional tensions.” It added that the TTP had about 6,000 fighters and continued to receive significant logistical and operational support from the de facto authorities (Taleban).
“Some member states reported that the TTP maintained links at the tactical level with ISIL-K or Daesh,” it said. “TTP continued to carry out high-profile attacks in the region, some of which resulted in mass casualties,” the report added.
The UNSC report said that “some BLA attacks showed a high degree of complexity and brutality”, referring to the hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Balochistan on 11 March 2025, which killed 31 people, including 21 hostages.
In 2023, a UN report also revealed that the outlawed TTP had established a new base in KP by mid-2023. The report shed light on close links not only between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban, but also with anti-Pakistani groups and al Qaeda.
The report further revealed that some Taliban members had also joined the TTP, perceiving it as a religious obligation to provide support.
Interlocutors reported that TTP members and their families received regular aid packages from the Taliban.
Importantly, the UN report noted a significant increase in Afghan nationals in TTP ranks. This supported Pakistan’s position that an increasing number of Afghan nationals were involved in suicide attacks in the country.
