Pakistan warns of Afghan-based terrorism as UN expert urges action against Taliban

Pakistan has expressed its concerns over the presence of terrorist outfits in Afghanistan, warning that the Taliban leadership is allowing them to operate from its soil.

“More than 4,700 Pakistanis have lost their lives to terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan during the last three years,” Pakistan’s envoy Muhammad Jawad Ajmal said during the UN Human Rights Council’s interactive conversation on Afghanistan on Thursday.

Separately, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett told the General Assembly that five years after coming to power, the Taliban had demonstrated no intention to ending systematic human rights atrocities. Instead, he added, limits on fundamental freedoms — especially for women and girls — have continued to tighten.

Ajmal said the degrading human rights situation was a sign of the Taliban’s “utter disregard” for their international duties. He pointed to the limits imposed on women and girls who, according to him, were denied of fundamental freedoms and dignity in a manner which was contrary to Islamic beliefs and values.

He also mentioned the ninth Ministerial Conference on Women, which was held in Islamabad in July and during which the Organization of Islamic Cooperation adopted the Islamabad Declaration. The declaration voiced worry over the Taliban’s limitations on women and girls, saying they are incongruous with Islamic beliefs.

Bennett urged UN member states not to normalise relations with the Taliban until the leadership rolls back its restrictive policies.

He said the Taliban’s new directives have further eroded women’s rights, enabled violence against them and severely curtailed their ability to exit abusive relationships. He also expressed alarm over the regime’s tolerance of child marriages.

Pakistan’s engagement also brought to the fore security issues relating to Afghanistan. Ajmal accused the Taliban of having strong links with terrorist outfits and said these groups were operating freely on Afghan soil with the patronage of external actors who wanted to target Pakistan and other surrounding nations.

He added the Taliban’s refusal to openly renounce the groups was evidence that they were involved and supported their activities.

Meanwhile, Bennett’s study chronicled major human rights abuses in Afghanistan, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

The report also expressed concern at restrictions on freedom of expression, exclusion of persons with disabilities, and discrimination and persecution of ethnic, religious, linguistic and other marginalised communities.