Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram on Tuesday stressed on the need to address and act against the threat posed by terrorist safe havens in Afghanistan.
“This threat of Daesh, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Majeed Brigade is a threat not only to Afghanistan and Pakistan but to the entire region and beyond,” he said during a United Nations Security Council debate on the 20th biannual report of the secretary-general on the threat posed by Daesh to international peace and security. “We must sincerely address the terrorist threats from Afghanistan,” he added, as Islamabad maintains that a surge in terrorism across Pakistan stems from terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan.
Akram noted that even as Daesh had been suppressed in other countries, it retains a foothold in Afghanistan. Overall, he said, over two dozen terrorist groups were operating inside Afghanistan. The country, he said, now serves as a hub for “Daesh recruitment and facilitation.” He outright rejected claims that similar facilities existed in Pakistan.
The envoy emphasized on the need for the global community to tackle the threat through a comprehensive, coordinated and principled strategy based upon the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted by the UNGA. “We are fighting Daesh, we are fighting the TTP and we are fighting the Majeed Brigade and we will continue to do so with determination,” he said, maintaining those responsible for the situation must recognize the scale of the threat posed by these terrorist groups.
Akram called for the establishment of a subsidiary body to “promote the universal consideration and balanced implementation of all four pillars of the GCTS with the vital support of UNOCT as its executing arm.” He said there was an urgent need to change the U.N.’s counter-terrorism architecture and sanctions regimes to ensure they were adequately equipped to respond to prevailing challenges.
“We must address the new cyber tools of terrorism, including the dark web and cryptocurrencies which are being utilized increasingly for radicalization campaigns, incitement to violence, terror financing, propaganda and disinformation through social media,” he said.
“To comprehensively defeat terrorism,” he added, “we must address the new and emerging forms of terrorism, including violent acts by white supremacists, far-right extremists, violent nationalist, fascist, xenophobic, Islamophobic and anti-Muslim groups, and similar ideologies in various parts of the world.”