Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, has strongly warned that terrorism continues to pose a serious and persistent threat to international peace and security, calling on the United Nations to take decisive action, including the designation and banning of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar expressed deep concern over the existence of safe havens for terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, stressing that Pakistan remains a frontline state in the global war against terrorism and continues to bear the heaviest burden of this menace.
He highlighted Pakistan’s unparalleled sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, stating that the country has lost over 90,000 lives and suffered immense economic losses over the past two decades. Despite these sacrifices, he noted, Pakistan continues to face cross-border terrorist threats, particularly after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, which has provided renewed operational space to multiple terrorist groups.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar emphasized that terrorist elements are actively using Afghan soil to plan and carry out attacks inside Pakistan, posing a direct challenge not only to Pakistan’s security but also to regional stability. He urged the international community to adopt a zero-tolerance approach toward terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
The Pakistani envoy also strongly condemned India’s state-sponsored terrorism in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He stated that systematic human rights violations and repression by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir are unacceptable and cannot be ignored by the international community.
He categorically rejected attempts to label the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination as terrorism, asserting that such narratives distort reality and undermine international law.
Concluding his address, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to global counterterrorism efforts and called upon the United Nations and its member states to take concrete actions against terrorist organizations, their financiers, and their facilitators, in order to ensure lasting peace and security at both regional and global levels.
