Situation has become intolerable: Pakistan
Envoy to UN highlights rise in terror attacks from Afghan soil
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, highlighting the “exponential rise” cross-border terrorist attacks from Afghanistan, has said that the situation has become “intolerable for Pakistan”.
His remarks come against the backdrop of a spate of coordinate attacks in Balochistan on Saturday. Clearing operations following the attacks continued on Sunday while Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said in the afternoon that 145 militants had been killed within a span of 40 hours.
The military’s media affairs wing said the attacks were carried out by Fitna-al-Hindustan — a term that the state has designated for Balochistan-based terrorist groups to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.
Pakistan has also been raising alarm over the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan and accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring them. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to rein in terrorist outfits operating out of Afghanistan.
Speaking to a Pakistani media outlet on Sunday, Ambassador Ahmad reiterated the accusation that the Afghan Taliban were sheltering militant groups operating against Pakistan and highlighted what he described as India’s long-standing support for proxy elements active from Afghan soil.
He said the UN secretary general had “quite rightly pointed out” earlier this week that the international community expected the Afghan Taliban to ensure Afghan soil was not used for cross-border terrorism.
The envoy noted that this commitment was central to the original Doha process but remained unfulfilled.
Under the Doha agreement in 2020, which paved the way for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years, Kabul had committed to preventing militant groups from using its soil to threaten the security of the US, its allies and other countries.
A recent article in US-based magazine Foreign Affairs said that terrorist violence in Pakistan has surged since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. It further described the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as “the most worrisome flashpoint in South Asia today.”
The magazine noted that the simmering conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan now threatened to escalate, with potentially damaging consequences for the wider region.
Citing Pakistani research organisations, Foreign Affairs reported that 2025 was Pakistan’s deadliest year in a decade.
According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies and the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, the country experienced a sharp rise in terrorist attacks, including by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The magazine described the upward trend as deeply concerning and warned that Pakistan could face even deadlier attacks in the near future. The report highlighted that repeated mediation efforts — including talks facilitated by Qatar, Turkiye, and Saudi Arabia — have failed to secure a lasting Taliban commitment to rein in the TTP.
Ambassador Ahmad pointed out that “the large presence of the TTP in Afghanistan, together with BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army) Fitna-al- Hindustan, and their terrorist acts against Pakistan from Afghan soil, have also been reported by the UN Monitoring Team.”
“There has been an exponential rise in terrorist attacks in recent years in Pakistan originating from across the border from Afghanistan,” he said, calling the situation “intolerable for Pakistan.”
Reiterating Pakistan’s resolve to respond decisively, he said: “We are taking all necessary steps to counter and eliminate this menace, and we are resolute in this objective.”
Pakistan attached particular importance to the Taliban’s pledge that Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism against other countries, the envoy said. Monitoring Desk
