Dar calls on OIC to urge Taliban to eliminate terrorism 'with sincerity'
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar addresses the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Photo: FO
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to press the Afghan Taliban to take concrete and verifiable steps to prevent their soil from being used for terrorist attacks against neighbouring countries.
Dar appealed while addressing a meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Recalling the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, Dar described it as a “watershed moment” for the country.
“Pakistan was the first country to open its doors to our Afghan brethren at the time,” he said, adding that Islamabad had also hosted the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC-CFM on Dec 19, 2021, to garner the solidarity of Islamic countries and mobilise international support to address the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
“It was hoped that the Taliban would honour Afghanistan's international obligations and their own commitments by eliminating terrorism, promoting inclusivity and protecting the human rights of its citizens,” the foreign minister said.
However, he said, the expectations of OIC members and the wider international community had remained unfulfilled.
Dar said the Taliban had consequently “failed to seize the opportunity to integrate Afghanistan with the wider world and to improve the lives of the Afghan people” because of what he described as their “misplaced priorities and flawed ideologies”.
“As fellow OIC members, regional partners and neighbours, we can help Afghanistan integrate with the international community. But the Taliban must first take the steps necessary to create a conducive environment,” he said.
Dar said the foremost requirement was “concrete and verifiable actions” to prevent Afghan soil from being used for terrorism against neighbouring countries.
He particularly referred to attacks against Pakistan that, he said, were planned and orchestrated from Afghanistan with external backing to destabilise the region.
“Pakistan is seriously concerned over the presence of more than two dozen terrorist groups inside Afghanistan, particularly the TTP, BLA and Majeed Brigade, ISIL-K (Daesh), Al-Qaida and ETIM that threaten regional and international peace and security,” he said.
He said Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies were making “enormous sacrifices” to counter terrorism as Pakistanis continued to be targeted and martyred by terrorist groups operating with impunity from Afghan soil.
Dar recalled the suicide bombing at a mosque in Kohat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa the previous week, saying it had “martyred at least 24 Pakistanis”.
He also thanked Qatar, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia for their mediation and “sincere efforts” to counsel the Taliban and find amicable solutions.
Dar said the OIC, as “a collective voice of the Muslim world”, had a vital role in addressing the situation in Afghanistan and urged the group to call on the Taliban to take several steps, foremost among them eliminating terrorism and ending the patronage of terrorist groups.
“They must not allow Afghan soil to be used for orchestrating terrorist attacks against neighbouring countries,” he said.
He also called on the Taliban to honour their international obligations and commitments and curb trafficking through illegal smuggling networks, including narcotics, weapons and human trafficking.
Dar further urged the Taliban to lift restrictions on women and girls that were contrary to Islamic principles and norms of Muslim society and to reconsider policies that denied fundamental freedoms to ordinary Afghans.
He said Afghans had “already suffered enough from civil war and conflict”.
Dar referred to the ninth OIC Ministerial Conference on Women, held in Islamabad on July 12-13, 2026, which had expressed “deep concern” over continued restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan.
He also called for governance through a politically inclusive process involving all ethnicities and minorities.
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The foreign minister urged the Taliban to facilitate the resettlement and integration of Afghan returnees in their homeland, while saying the international community also had a responsibility to share the burden.
Dar said international donors must provide adequate funding to meet Afghanistan’s humanitarian aid requirements and support its socio-economic development.
In this regard, he commended the work being done by the OIC Office in Kabul, as well as humanitarian support provided through the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.
“No country desires normalcy and stability in Afghanistan more than Pakistan, and no country has suffered from the consequences of instability and insecurity in Afghanistan more than Pakistan,” he said.
Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to supporting efforts aimed at achieving a stable and prosperous Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours, but stressed that this would require “mutual respect, sincerity and demonstration of necessary political will by the Taliban.”
Tensions between the two countries have escalated over the last year amid mutual accusations over cross-border militancy. Islamabad has long maintained that terrorists linked to the TTP operate from Afghan territory, while Kabul has denied the allegations and accused Pakistan of violating its sovereignty through alleged strikes.
Pakistan has maintained that meaningful engagement with the Taliban government cannot resume unless Kabul takes concrete and verifiable action against banned terrorist groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad says operates from Afghan territory to plan and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
The issue of terrorist sanctuaries remains the central source of friction between the two countries. Islamabad has repeatedly conveyed to Kabul that assurances alone are insufficient and that Pakistan wants to see demonstrable action against groups it considers responsible for attacks on its territory.
The Pakistani position also extends to other terrorist organisations operating from Afghan territory, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The deterioration in bilateral ties, particularly over the TTP issue, has significantly narrowed the space for diplomatic initiatives.
Pakistan appears to be keeping diplomatic channels and limited institutional contacts open while refusing to resume substantive engagement with Kabul until it sees concrete and verifiable action against militant groups operating from Afghan soil.