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NEW YORK: At the United Nations, Pakistan argued that, despite promises, the Taliban government has not acted “decisively” to halt the cross-border terrorism by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that has resulted in hundreds of civilian and military casualties.
In a debate on the situation in Afghanistan, the permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, told the UN Security Council that the highest priority – for the international community, for Afghanistan’s neighbors, and for Afghanistan itself – remains the elimination of terrorism within and from Afghanistan.
Ambassador Munir Akram described the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan as the most direct and serious threat to Pakistan and detailed the TTP’s activities, which have resulted in hundreds of civilian and military casualties.
He added that Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed to the Taliban — at very senior levels — to act decisively to end TTP’s attacks, disarm its fighters, capture and hand over the terrorist group’s fighters to Pakistan.
“Unfortunately, despite promises, no meaningful action has been taken so far. TTP safe havens remain close to Pakistan’s borders. Cross-border attacks have continued, including one by a TTP associate that killed several Chinese engineers working on the Dasu hydropower project,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council.
“The impunity which some of these terrorist groups seem to enjoy within Afghanistan poses a dire and direct threat to all of Afghanistan’s neighbours as well as to the international community.”
Therefore, Pakistan’s top diplomat at the UN urged the UNSC to call on the Taliban government to sever its links with the TTP and its associates; prevent them from carrying out cross-border attacks against Pakistan; disarm the TTP terrorists and capture the TTP’s leadership and hand them over to Pakistan.
At the outset, he said Pakistan has consistently advocated for sustained engagement with the Afghan interim authorities to normalize the situation in that country.
While welcoming the Taliban’s announced decision to participate in the upcoming UN-sponsored meeting in Doha, Ambassador Akram underlined the need for both the international community and the Afghan interim Government to “be clear about the overall objectives they seek”.
For its part, the Pakistani envoy said the international community is obliged to help the 23 million Afghans who need urgent aid and to take adequate measures to bolster Afghanistan’s economy — including reviving the national banking system and restoring commercial activity.
“Pakistan has a national compulsion to promote peace, stability, and development in Afghanistan. And we will continue to work at all levels – bilateral, regional, and international and with the UN– to achieve these objectives,” the envoy said.
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