Pak questions experts over TTP presence in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Sunday questioned the position of United Nations human rights experts regarding the lack of "credible evidence" linking the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacks to Afghan soil, pointing to multiple UN and international reports that documented the presence and activities of terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan.

Last month, the UN experts had urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to commit to a permanent ceasefire and had also claimed that Pakistan had not published credible evidence that TTP attacks within its territory were directed or controlled by the de facto Afghan authorities.

The experts had called on the parties to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects. They called for prompt, independent and transparent investigations of all alleged violations, accountability for perpetrators, and remedies for victims, in line with international standards.

Contrary to their position, Pakistan highlighted a contrast between the UN experts' statement and established findings from various UN Security Council Monitoring Team reports and assessments consistently documenting TTP presence, safe havens and operational activity from Afghan soil.

Pakistan referred to the 35th, 36th, 16th and 37th UN Security Council monitoring team reports. It also cited the SIGAR 66th and 68th reports of January 2025. Additional references include the Russian MFA Military-Political Assessment of February 2026, the CSTO Security Assessment of 2026, the SCO Deliberations of September 2025, and the Quadrilateral Assessment by Russia, China and Iran in September 2025.

The said reports and assessments collectively highlighted Afghanistan as a hub for over 20 international terrorist organisations (ITOs).