As Pakistan grapples with a surge in terrorist attacks, the country has cautioned the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is evolving into an umbrella organization for regional terrorist groups.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, issued the warning during a UNSC meeting on Afghanistan. He emphasized that the greatest security threat to the region stems from more than 20 terrorist organizations operating from Afghan soil.
Escalating Terror Threat in Pakistan
Ambassador Akram’s remarks come amid an alarming rise in terrorist activity in Pakistan. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2025 report, Pakistan has become the world’s second-most terrorism-affected country, moving up from fourth place.
The report highlights a 45% surge in terrorism-related deaths, rising from 748 in 2023 to 1,081 in 2024, marking one of the sharpest global increases. The number of terrorist attacks more than doubled, from 517 in 2023 to 1,099 in 2024, exceeding the 1,000 mark for the first time since the index’s inception.
Experts link the rise in terrorist attacks to the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in Kabul, which has emboldened militant groups operating in the region.
Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Efforts
Despite the escalating threats, Pakistan’s security forces remain resolute in their counterterrorism operations. Last week, they successfully foiled a terrorist attack on Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eliminating all 16 militants involved. However, the operation also claimed the lives of five soldiers and 13 civilians.
Additionally, Pakistani forces, acting on intelligence from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), arrested Daesh-Khorasan operative Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, and handed him over to the United States. Sharifullah is the main suspect in the Abbey Gate suicide bombing at Kabul Airport in 2021, which killed 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops.
‘Kabul is Complicit’
Ambassador Akram underscored that the TTP, with an estimated 6,000 fighters, is the largest terrorist group operating from Afghan soil.
“With safe havens near our border, the TTP has carried out numerous attacks on Pakistan’s soldiers, civilians, and institutions, causing hundreds of casualties,” Akram stated.
He further accused Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government of tolerating and even facilitating the TTP’s cross-border terrorist operations.
“We have evidence that the Kabul authorities are not just turning a blind eye but are complicit in the TTP’s cross-border attacks,” he said.
Akram also warned that the TTP is actively collaborating with other terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade, both of which aim to destabilize Pakistan and sabotage its economic ties with China.
Pakistan’s warning to the UNSC underscores the urgent need for global action against the growing terror threat emanating from Afghanistan.
