Pakistan tells UN over 60 militant camps in Afghanistan threaten national security, urges aid for Afghans
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the UN Security Council on Wednesday more than 60 militant camps operate inside Afghanistan, serving as launch pads for cross-border attacks that target civilians and security forces while urging the international community to improve the dire humanitarian situation facing ordinary Afghans.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan and blames the Afghan Taliban for enabling their strikes, a charge that Kabul denies. Islamabad began deporting illegal immigrants, mostly Afghan nationals, two years ago citing these security concerns.
Addressing a Council debate on Afghanistan, Pakistan’s UN ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed raised noted the Taliban have been in power for more than four years – ending civil war for the first time in four decades – yet the country’s political and economic situation “remains deeply worrying.”
“The Taliban authorities must fulfill their international obligations on counter terrorism,” Ahmed said. “Terrorism emanating from Afghanistan remains the gravest threat to Pakistan’s national security. Terrorist entities including ISIL-K [Islamic State Khorasan], Al-Qaeda, TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], ETIM [East Turkestan Islamic Movement], BLA [Baloch Liberation Army] and the Majeed Brigade operate from Afghan sanctuaries, with more than 60 such terrorist camps serving as hubs for enabling cross-border infiltration and attacks.”
