WNAM REPORT: Pakistan Monday called on the world community and the United Nations Security Council to address terrorism within and from Afghanistan as “a matter of priority”, as the 15-member Council adopted a resolution that extended the mandate of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) by one year.
“The Taliban government has not been effective in eliminating ISIS/Daesh; it has tolerated several other terrorist groups and is complicit in the cross-border attacks against Pakistan by the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), together with the BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army) and its Majeed Brigade,” Ambassador Munir Akram told the Security Council in explanation of his vote on the resolution.
The resolution, whose initial draft of this resolution was circulated by China and Pakistan, was adopted unanimously.
Referring to persisting cross-border attacks from the Afghan soil, the Pakistan envoy highlighted last week’s deadly attack by BLA and the Majeed Brigade on a passenger train in the country’s Balochistan province, in which the terrorists held hundreds of hostages and killed 25 innocent people.
Thirty-three terrorists were killed by Pakistani special forces, in a bold rescue operation, he said.
“Throughout the attack, the terrorists were in direct contact with their ‘handlers’ in Afghanistan, from where the attack was planned and directed,” Ambassador Akram told delegates.
“We also have evidence that this attack was initiated and financed by our principal adversary, using its proxies in Afghanistan”.
The Pakistani envoy said the train attack and other such terrorist attack taking place against Pakistan were clearly designed to destabilize Pakistan and in particular to disrupt Pakistan’s cooperation with China and the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
He expressed appreciation for UNSC’s strong press statement on the attack against the “Jaffar Express”, noting that the Council members had “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and to bring them to justice” and also called on all States to “cooperate actively” with Pakistan to this end.
Pakistan, Ambassador Akram said, was also gratified that today’s resolution that expressed “serious concern over the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan” and further reaffirmed its “demand that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any country, to plan or finance terrorist acts, or to shelter and train terrorists” and “that no Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any country”.
The resolution called on the Taliban to take active measures to combat terrorism.
The Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism machinery must also take “active measures” to secure implementation of the Security Council’s decisions to address the challenge of terrorism within and from Afghanistan, particularly from
ISIL-K, Al-Qaida, the TTP, BLA and the Majeed Brigade, the Pakistani envoy said.
“These terrorist organizations pose a serious threat to peace and security in Afghanistan, in the region and globally. Pakistan will propose some concrete steps to enable the United Nations to achieve these Counter-terrorism objectives,” Ambassador Akram said in conclusion.
