UN report vindicates Pakistan's position on threats from Afghan-based terror groups: FO
Pakistan stands firm in its resolve to partner with int'l community against menace of terrorism
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan on Sunday said that new UN report vindicated its longstanding position on threats posed to it and the region by groups like TTP, JuA, HuA and their affiliates, based in Afghanistan.
Commenting on the 27th Report of the UN Analytical and Monitoring Team, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that Pakistan, in the past, had drawn attention of the international community to the support provided to Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates by the hostile intelligence agencies.
He said one of the results of that support was the merger of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA), and other splinter groups of Lashkar-e- Jhangvi) LeJ with TTP in Afghanistan last year.
The spokesperson said Pakistan had also raised the issue of cross border attacks carried out by TTP on security forces deployed on its side of the border.
"Pakistan acknowledges UNMT s efforts in exposing the hostile agencies sponsored collusion of anti-Pakistan elements in Afghanistan. Pakistan expects that a dedicated effort will be launched by Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and Resolute Support Mission (RSM) to neutralise this threat emanating from Afghanistan," the spokesperson remarked.
Pakistan stands firm in its resolve to partner with international community against the menace of terrorism, he added.
UN recognizes threat to Pakistan
Earlier today, a new United Nations report acknowledged the action taken by Pakistani government against individuals engaged in terrorist activities, and goes on to say that terror group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was responsible for over 100 ‘cross-border’ attacks within three months last year.
On its part, Pakistan has consistently highlighted the terrorism threat from the TTP.
In its 27th report to the United Nations Security Council, under the United Nations (UN) monitoring team that tracks Al Qaeda, Islamic State and other extremist groups points to the arrests in Pakistan of “individuals engaging in terrorism financing and the freezing of the assets of designated individuals and entities”.
Diplomats noted that the UN acknowledgment of Pakistan actions comes at a time when India continues to blame Pakistan for inaction against the designated groups.
Reporting on the activities of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the UN report saw the ‘reunification of splinter groups (of TTP) that took place in Afghanistan’.
The report records that ‘five entities pledged alliance to TTP in July and August (2020), including the Shehryar Mehsud group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Hizb-ul-Ahrar, the Amjad Farooqi group and the Usman Saifullah group (formerly known as Lashkar-e- Jhangvi)’.
The report cautions that the merger of TTP has enhanced the threat of terrorism to Pakistan and the region, as it has ‘increased the strength of TTP and resulted in a sharp increase in attacks’.
In this regard, the UN reported ‘TTP was responsible for more than 100 cross-border attacks between July and October 2020’.
The report said that, based on estimates, the TTP’s fighting strength ranges between 2,500 and 6,000. Last year, Pakistan handed over a dossier to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the Indian sponsorship of TTP and JuA.
