New York (TDI): Owing to the increased attacks from terrorists operating from Afghanistan, Pakistan has urged the United Nations (UN) to recover and prevent weapons’ access to such groups such as the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Majeed Brigade.
“Terrorist armed groups are in possession of billions worth of illicit arms abandoned in Afghanistan, which are being used in violence against civilians and armed forces of Pakistan,” Counsellor at the Pakistan Mission Syed Atif Raza said at the “UNSC Arria-Formula meeting on Small Arms and Light Weapons Management in UN Sanctions Regimes” on Saturday.
The diplomat’s statement comes against the backdrop of a new report by the Geneva-based “Small Arms Survey” which underlined the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons continues to be a major concern along the Pakistan- Afghanistan border.
The report, titled “Documenting Arms Availability in Afghanistan”, spotlights the arms trafficking in the region, revealing that both Soviet-era and NATO-pattern weapons remain accessible in informal markets despite efforts by the Taliban to control weapons distribution.
The findings show that arms are regularly diverted to non-state armed outfits, including the TTP and al-Qaeda, raising concerns about regional security.
The survey is to be interpreted and taken against the context of the Global Terrorism Index 2025 report which not only places Pakistan as the world’s second-most terrorism-affected nation in 2024 with an alarming 45 percent surge in terrorism-related deaths but also echoed Islamabad’s repeated stance on the use of Afghanistan’s soil by the TTP.
Noting that the militant outfits operating from Afghanistan have intensified their attacks, especially along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the report said that the TTP remained the deadliest terrorist organization in the country, accounting for 52 percent of all terrorism-related deaths.
Read More: Pakistan Vows Action Against Terrorist Groups Based in Afghanistan
Furthermore, Pakistan has been reeling under increased terrorist attacks targeting law enforcers and security forces since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, especially in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Read More: Pakistan Asks Taliban to Act Against Terrorists in Afghanistan
Pakistan witnessed a sharp increase in terror attacks in January this year, surging by 42 percent compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
Building upon his arguments in this regard, Counsellor Raza underlined that small arms and light weapons have become instruments of choice for state and non-state actors to destabilize any nation or region through fuelling conflict and backing to illegal armed groups, organised crime and terrorism.
