Russian and Pakistani envoys at the United Nations voiced concerns over terrorist groups’ activities in Afghanistan during an address to the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.
Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya, emphasized that Daesh Khorasan remains active in the country.
“Despite efforts by the Taliban, terrorists are increasing their influence in the country, intentionally destabilizing the situation,” Nebenzya said. He highlighted that the victims of these terrorist acts are often ethnic and religious minorities, including women and children.
Nebenzya also criticized the Taliban’s efforts to counter narcotics, calling them insufficient. “What is needed is comprehensive international cooperation, including through the UNODC,” he said.
Similarly, Pakistani envoy to the UN, Munir Akram, expressed concerns over the presence of multiple terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
“There are a number of other terrorist groups in Afghanistan—al-Qaeda, TTP, ETIM, IMU—all of which the Afghan interim government [Taliban] must take effective and sustained actions against, in compliance with several Security Council resolutions,” Akram stated.
He argued that the impunity some terrorist groups enjoy in Afghanistan poses dire threats to neighboring countries and the international community.
Munir claimed that the TTP has acquired sophisticated weapons which has intensified the lethality of its attacks. He revealed that Pakistan has repeatedly demanded the Taliban to disarm, capture and hand over the TTP members to Pakistan. But he voiced frustration that no action had been taken by the Taliban.
But the Taliban’s spokesman for its Interior Ministry, Abdul Matin Qanai denied the findings of the UN regarding security incidents over the past three months.
Amid all these conflictive remarks, the question remains on what is the reality of security in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s control? Bismillah Taban, a military expert puts his view as: “The world needs to take joint action against the security threats emerging from Afghanistan.”
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the regional and beyond region countries have repeatedly expressed concerns about the presence of “terrorist” groups operating within Afghan territory.
The Russian Defense Minister, Tajikistani officials, the United States Institute of Peace, the United Nations Security Council, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization have all warned about the presence of “terrorist” groups in Afghanistan.
