KABUL – Pakistan has warned the United Nations Security Council that armed groups sheltering in Afghanistan remain the gravest threat to its national security, saying the Taliban has failed to prevent cross-border militancy.
Speaking at Wednesday’s session on Afghanistan, Pakistan’s UN envoy Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said groups such as Al-Qaeda, Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and Baloch insurgent factions continue to operate “with impunity” from Afghan soil.
“Terrorism emanating from Afghanistan remains the gravest threat to Pakistan’s national security,” he told the Council.
He claimed more than 60 training camps were active across the border, used to stage infiltration and attacks inside Pakistan.
“We have credible evidence of collaboration among these groups through joint training, weapons smuggling and coordinated attacks,” he said.
Ahmed also said nearly 70 propaganda accounts traced to Afghan internet servers were spreading extremist content, urging closer cooperation between Taliban authorities and social media companies to curb such activity.
The Pakistani diplomat described the TTP as the largest UN-listed militant group still active in Afghanistan, with an estimated 6,000 fighters. Islamabad, he said, had foiled several infiltration attempts and seized advanced weapons left behind after the U.S. withdrawal.
“These efforts come at a heavy price… this month alone, 12 Pakistani soldiers were martyred,” he noted.
The Taliban regime in Kabul has consistently rejected such accusations. Its authorities insist Afghanistan is not being used against neighbors and say they are working to prevent cross-border attacks.
Despite these assurances, tensions have risen. In recent months, Pakistan has accused cross-border militants of deadly raids inside its territory, while Taliban has condemned Pakistani strikes across the frontier. At least a dozen people were killed earlier this year in cross-border fire, prompting diplomatic protests from both sides.
Relations have also soured over the fate of Afghan refugees. Pakistan has launched a mass repatriation drive, sending back both undocumented and registered Afghans. Rights groups and aid agencies warn that abrupt deportations are pushing vulnerable families into crisis and at risk of Taliban persecution.
According to UN figures, more than a million Afghans were forced to leave Pakistan in the past year alone, many facing harsh winter conditions upon return.
Taliban has condemned the expulsions, while Islamabad says the policy is a security necessity.
