The latest UN Sanctions Monitoring Team report echoes that terrorism in Afghanistan is not just homegrown or foreign aided instead it’s very inextricably linked between international networks and terrorist organizations operating there; something that is quite explosive.
The inimitable proof is given in the report that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Al-Qaeda (AQ), East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) are thriving in Afghanistan, thanks to the tacit support and connivance of Interim Afghan Government (IAG).
In terms of validity, Pakistan’s long-held assertion that Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists’ launchpad threatening regional security, was vindicated in this latest dossier.
Terror groups like TTP, ISKP, and Al-Qaeda are thriving in Afghanistan due to Taliban support.
Pakistani intelligence has so far intercepted the high-level ISKP operatives that are linked to the Kerman suicide bombing in Iran and the Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow, the report adds. Militants involved in recruitment, travel and funding of the fighters such as an Afghan (name mentioned as Tariq Tajiki) who led the Kerman attack through a courier network and is still at large, or apprehended in Afghanistan were key figures. The arrests of these operatives indicate how far the reach of these terror networks expands as they are transnational and disposed to transcend the regional borders to attack.
Furthermore, the report also reveals how the backing from the Afghan Taliban to terrorist groups like TTP has helped it to consolidate its operational prowess further using Afghan soil. TTP receives weapons, logistical, and financial support from the Taliban while cadres of Al-Qaeda and AQIS have provided active support to TTP for its cross-border raids into Pakistan.
This disturbing turn is an ominous sign of an emerging trend in which the Afghan interim government directly and probably indirectly fuels rapidly increasing acts of terror on Pakistani soil. This report confirms that Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan is in active cooperation with TTP, TIP, Jamaat Ansarullah, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and these units are all a part of a formidably complex, well-spread, and coordinated terrorist network that poses a grave threat to the international security.
The UN report vindicates Pakistan’s long-held assertion that Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists.
This nexus is sustained by financial support. For instance, the report says that the Afghan Taliban leadership pays the family of Mufti Noor Wali Mehsood a monthly sum of $43,000, which sharply underscores just how much the family is invested in the terror operations. But this also enables the establishment of new training centers in critical provinces like Kunar, Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika, and their steady flow of funds supports operational logistics as well.
These facilities are serving as recruitment processes, where fighters are indoctrinated and radicalized getting even members of the Afghan Taliban under the influence of TTP. As the network has grown, it has become more difficult to coordinate regional counter-terrorism efforts.
The report further adds another layer of complexity and warns of a worrying link between the Baloch Liberation Army (Majeed Brigade) and terrorist organizations like TTP, ISKP, and TIP further aggravating Pakistan’s security dilemma. IAG has repeatedly dismissed the allegation as unfounded and has repeatedly warned Islamabad against these connections without success.
This not only serves to increase suspicions about how far terrorist groups really are being helped by those in Afghanistan, but their denial in the face of such strong evidence is rather concerning. These revelations are vindicating for a nation like Pakistan, which has been hit on the front line by cross-border terrorism.
High-level terror operatives linked to major attacks have been intercepted, confirming a vast transnational network.
The findings of the report are shared at a time when the international community is increasingly nervous about safe havens for terrorists. This constitutes a damning indictment against a regional strategy that, by giving this sanctuary community a free hand, allows failure to compromise Pakistan’s national security as well as its bedrock contribution to help to maintain the larger stability of the global community.
The UN report is a sobering sign that to the contrary, without dictated and coordinated action against terrorism, these networks will become even more emboldened as they are met with impunity and no accountability.
This is a moment of utmost importance in which we must demand: Will the international community with time, endeavor finally stand up to these entrenched terror networks and allow them to run their course; or will politics’ inertia prevail once again?
This question will carry enormous implications for peace in the region and across the globe, and it will require an increased resolve to tear down the safe havens that have become fertile grounds for extremism.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
