Pakistan challenges UN experts’ stance on TTP attacks from Afghan soil

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has questioned the position taken by United Nations human rights experts who said there was no credible evidence showing that attacks by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) inside Pakistan were directed or controlled from Afghan territory.

The UN experts had last month urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to commit to a permanent ceasefire. They also said Pakistan had not made public credible evidence linking TTP attacks within its borders to the de facto Afghan authorities. The experts further called on both sides to comply with international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects.

They also urged prompt, independent and transparent investigations into all alleged violations, accountability for those responsible, and remedies for victims in line with international standards.

Pakistan, however, said this position was at odds with findings contained in several United Nations and international assessments that, it said, had repeatedly documented the presence, safe havens and operational activities of militant groups in Afghanistan.

Pakistan referred to the 35th, 36th, 16th and 37th reports of the UN Security Council monitoring team. It also cited the SIGAR 66th and 68th reports of January 2025.

Additional references mentioned by Pakistan included 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.

Pakistan also pointed to statements made by the Danish ambassador at the UN Security Council in November 2025, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in 2025, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia in 2025, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in August 2025.

According to Pakistan’s account of these reports and assessments, Afghanistan has been identified as a hub for more than 20 international terrorist organisations, with 13,000 to 23,000 foreign militants present there. Pakistan said these figures included more than 6,000 TTP fighters who were enjoying safe havens and freedom to operate.

The same assessments, Pakistan said, also recorded the continued presence of Al-Qaeda and a regrouping of its leadership, along with the expansion of ISIL-K.

Pakistan further said the assessments documented more than 600 TTP attacks in Pakistan launched from Afghan soil, and alleged that the Afghan Taliban had provided sanctuary, facilitation and logistical support that enabled cross-border attacks and contributed to regional instability.

Pakistan asked what further proof the UN human rights experts required, saying that multiple UN and international assessments had already confirmed the presence of more than 20 militant groups, thousands of foreign fighters and continued Taliban support to proxies operating from Afghan territory.

“Whether these findings are being ignored? Do they expect Pakistan’s leadership to go to Afghanistan and have photographs with TTP leaders like Hafiz Gul Bahadar and Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud?”, he stated.

The remark was made by a security analyst cited in the report, who also expressed concern that the UN experts appeared to be questioning the credibility of UN institutions responsible for monitoring, reporting and upholding international norms.

The 37th report by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, dated February 4, said attacks on Pakistan by the TTP from Afghanistan had increased. The report supported Islamabad’s longstanding position that Afghanistan had become a sanctuary for militants using its territory to launch attacks on Pakistan.

This assessment came at a time when Pakistan was facing a renewed wave of violence.