By Uzma Ehtasham
The latest assessment by the United Nations security council delivers an unambiguous verdict on a question that has haunted the region since the Taliban returned to Kabul: Afghanistan has not ceased to be a hub for militant activity. For years, the Taliban have insisted that Afghan soil would no longer be used for terrorism, presenting themselves as custodians of stability after decades of war. The UN report decisively punctures that claim. Describing the Taliban’s assurances as lacking credibility, it concludes that neighboring states are increasingly viewing Afghanistan not as a source of reassurance but as a growing threat to regional security. The findings leave little room for diplomatic evasion. Extremist organizations, including Islamic State Khorasan, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, al-Qaida, the Turkistan Islamic Party and several allied groups, continue to operate from within Afghanistan.
Some, the report warns, are not merely present but are actively using Afghan territory to plan and facilitate attacks beyond its borders. Of particular concern is al-Qaida’s enduring closeness to the Taliban, a relationship that directly contradicts commitments made in international forums and reinforces fears that ideological affinity continues to trump global obligations. For Pakistan, the report reads less like a revelation than a long-delayed confirmation. Islamabad has argued consistently since 2021 that the Taliban’s return to power did not dismantle militant infrastructure but instead provided it with renewed space to reorganize. Speaking at a weekly briefing, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said the UN’s conclusions validated the country’s concerns, pointing to tangible evidence of terrorist elements operating freely inside Afghanistan.
The message from Islamabad was clear: this is no longer a bilateral grievance or a matter of competing narratives, but an internationally acknowledged reality. The human cost of that reality has been borne most heavily inside Pakistan. Since the Taliban takeover, attacks have surged across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the former tribal districts and parts of Balochistan. Soldiers, police officers and civilians have been killed in incidents traced back to groups enjoying sanctuary across the border. Pakistan initially chose engagement over confrontation, hoping that cooperation with Kabul might prevent Afghan soil from being used against its neighbors. That expectation, officials now argue, has been exposed as wishful thinking. The UN report also casts a wider net, warning that the threat emanating from Afghanistan extends well beyond Pakistan.
Central Asian states, China, Russia and even more distant regions face risks from groups such as IS-K, which has demonstrated both ambition and reach. The persistence of these networks undermines any claim that Afghanistan has entered a post-conflict phase. Instead, it suggests a fragile state where armed groups operate with varying degrees of tolerance, if not protection, from those in power. Complicating this already volatile picture is Pakistan’s long-running dispute with India, which Islamabad argues is inseparable from the regional security equation. At the same briefing, Pakistan’s foreign office drew attention to what it described as India’s repeated violations of the Indus Waters Treaty, focusing on sudden and unexplained changes in the flow of the Chenab river. Such actions, Pakistan warned, risk weaponizing water in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.
The concern is not abstract. Alterations in river flows threaten agriculture, livelihoods and food security for millions downstream. Pakistan’s accusation goes further. While India presents itself internationally as a responsible power and a counterweight to extremism, Islamabad alleges that New Delhi has pursued expansionist ambitions through covert networks and proxy groups, including in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s failure to decisively act against these groups, critics say, creates an enabling environment that suits broader regional rivalries. Whether or not all of Pakistan’s claims are accepted in full, the cumulative effect is a sense of a region pulled apart by unresolved disputes, mutual suspicion and a dangerous tolerance for grey-zone tactics. The UN report, read alongside these tensions, highlights a deeper structural problem.
International agreements and assurances, from counterterrorism commitments to water-sharing treaties, are only as strong as the political will behind them. When militant sanctuaries persist despite solemn pledges, and when binding treaties are treated as leverage rather than obligations, the foundations of regional order begin to erode. South Asia, with its dense population and nuclear-armed rivals, is particularly ill-equipped to absorb such erosion. Pakistan insists that its objective remains peace, not escalation. Its sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, measured in tens of thousands of lives lost over two decades, are well documented. Yet Islamabad argues that peace cannot be sustained through denial or selective enforcement of international norms. Dismantling terrorist networks in Afghanistan, it says, is not merely Pakistan’s concern but a global imperative. Similarly, adherence to treaties such as the Indus Waters agreement is not a favor but a legal and moral requirement.
(The writer is a public health professional, journalist, and possesses expertise in health communication, having keen interest in national and international affairs, can be reached at uzma@metro-morning.com)
