TTP ‘serious threat’ in South and Central Asia, receiving support from de facto Afghan authorities, UNSC told

Denmark has pointed to the “serious threat” posed by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Central and South Asia and says that the terror outfit has been receiving “logistical and substantial support from the de facto authorities”.

In the capacity of the chair of the Security Council ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, Denmark raised these concerns while briefing a UNSC meeting held in New York on Wednesday.

The presence of TTP militants in Afghanistan has long been a point of contention between Islamabad and the Taliban administration. Since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021, Pakistan has accused the group of sheltering thousands of TTP fighters, who have escalated attacks on Pakistani security forces, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtun­khwa and Balochistan provinces.

Denmark’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Sandra Jensen Landi told the UNSC meeting that the TTP, “with its approximately 6,000 fighters, is another serious threat emanating from the region, receiving both logistical and substantial support from the de facto authorities”.

“The TTP has conducted numerous high-profile attacks in Pakistan from Afghan soil, some of which incurred mass casualties,” she added.

Landi also gave an overview of the evolving terrorist threat posed by Daesh, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates, drawing on the latest assessments of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team.

“The threat posed by ISIL (Daesh), Al-Qaeda and their affiliates remains dynamic and geographically diverse, with the highest intensity observed in Africa. ISIL, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates continue to step up their propaganda, exploiting social media platforms to glorify violence, recruit youth and raise funds. Their continued use of cryptocurrencies poses a growing challenge to sanctions implementation,” she said.

Landi further stated that after losses in the Middle East, Daesh had “pivoted towards Africa, where affiliates such as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have expanded activities and propaganda”.

“ISIL-Khorasan (ISIL-K) is one of the most serious threats in Central and South Asia, with at least 2,000 fighters under Sanaullah Ghafari. They continue to target Shia communities, de facto Afghan authorities and foreign nationals,” she said.

“Across regions, foreign terrorist fighter movements — particularly between Syria, Africa and Central Asia — remain a persistent concern for member states.”

Landi further said that Al-Qaeda’s central leadership remained weak and largely marginalised, while affiliates — including Jamaat Nasr al Islam wal Muslimin in the Sahel region of Africa — had “exploited local grievances to expand their reach and financing”.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) also continued to incite attacks and raise funds, she highlighted.

“Overall, ISIL and Al-Qaeda have proven resilient, adaptive and opportunistic, exploiting regional instability, weak governance and emerging technologies to sustain relevance and project influence. These developments underscore the need for continued vigilance and close multilateral cooperation under the 1267 sanctions regime.”

Following Landi’s briefing, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Usman Jadoon was among those who addressed the meeting.

He highlighted that the global terrorism landscape continued to evolve, “adapting itself to a fast-changing world with new and emerging threats under the shadow of rapid technological advancement”.

“At the same time, the prevalence of prolonged unresolved conflicts, external interventions and root causes of terrorism, or euphemistically referred to as the ‘conditions conducive to terrorism’, remain unaddressed, giving continued life to the threat of terrorism.”

He said that as a frontline state in global efforts to counter terrorism, Pakistan had rendered invaluable sacrifices in its efforts to eradicate this menace, with over 80,000 casualties and billions of dollars in economic losses.

Al Qaeda was decimated largely due to Pakistan’s efforts, he said.

“Our valiant security forces and law enforcement agencies continue to counter the terrorism threat emanating from Afghanistan where entities like ISIL-K, TTP and its affiliates, BLA (Baloch Liberation Army) and the Majeed Brigade are thriving under the patronage of their hosts and backed by our principle adversary and net destabiliser in the region.”

Jadoon stressed that the 1267 sanctions regime — the UNSC framework for imposing sactions on Daesh and Al Qaeda — must reflect ground realities. “Its scope should be broadened to list individuals and entities, without any association with religion, nationality or ethnicity.”

He further said that it was necessary to deal with listing and delisting issues in a fair, transparent, judicious and impartial manner, and without political considerations.

“We must also ensure that the 1267 sanctions committee takes an objective view of all listing proposals that are brought before its consideration and not subject them to narrow political interests.”

Moreover, to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, the UN’s counter-terrorism architecture “must also possess the necessary tools to designate violent, far-right, extreme right-wing, ultra-nationalist, xenophobic and Islamophobic groups around the world”, he said.

Failed Pak-Afghan talks on countering terrorism

Since 2022, Pakistan has seen a spate of attacks by the banned group, and security forces routinely engage in counter-terrorism operations along the north-western border to eliminate the threat.

The spike in incidents followed the TTP ending a ceasefire with the government in November 2022 and vowing to attack security forces, police, and personnel of law enforcement agencies.

Pakistan’s bilateral relations with Afghanistan have also come under strain in recent times as the TTP remains the main point of contention between the two countries. Pakistan has demanded that the rulers in Kabul take action to stop cross-border terrorism.

But the Afghan Taliban deny Islamabad’s allegation of terrorists being allowed to use Afghan soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

During a process of dialogue, which followed border clashes between the two countries in October, the two sides had met in an effort to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.

On October 25, the second round of talks between the two sides began in the Turkish capital. But, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar then announced that the talks “failed to bring about any workable solution”.

However, mediators Turkiye and Qatar intervened and managed to salvage the dialogue process with an October 31 joint statement released by Turkiye stating that “further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided” during a principal-level meeting in Istanbul on November 6.

But on November 7, after the third round of talks, Defence Minister Khawaja said that talks addressing cross-border terrorism were “over” and “entered an indefinite phase” as negotiators failed to bridge deep differences between the two sides.

Following the failure of the talks, the Afghan Taliban suspended trade ties with Islamabad. Pakistan had already closed its border for trade soon after the October clashes.