ISLAMABAD, 31 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Pakistan has expressed serious concern over the continued presence and activities of terrorist organisations operating from Afghan territory, warning that the Taliban regime has failed to prevent militant groups from using Afghanistan as a base for attacks against neighbouring countries. Speaking at an interactive dialogue on Afghanistan at the UN Human Rights Council, Pakistan’s representative Muhammad Jawad Ajmal said more than 4,700 Pakistanis had been killed in terrorist attacks originating from Afghanistan over the past three years. He accused the Taliban authorities of maintaining close links with terrorist organisations that were operating freely on Afghan soil, allegedly with the support of external actors seeking to destabilise Pakistan and other neighbouring states. Ajmal said the Taliban’s failure to publicly condemn these groups raised serious questions about their commitment to combating terrorism. He also highlighted the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly restrictions imposed on women and girls, saying the denial of their fundamental freedoms and dignity was contrary to international obligations as well as Islamic principles and values. Referring to the ninth Ministerial Conference on Women hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad in July, he said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Islamabad Declaration had expressed concern over restrictions on Afghan women and girls. Separately, UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett told the General Assembly that five years after assuming power, the Taliban had demonstrated no meaningful commitment to ending systematic human rights violations. He urged UN member states not to normalise relations with the Taliban until the authorities reversed their restrictive policies. Bennett warned that recent decrees had further undermined women’s rights, exposed them to violence and restricted their ability to escape abusive relationships, while also expressing concern over the regime’s acceptance of child marriages. His report documented widespread violations, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. It also highlighted restrictions on freedom of expression, the exclusion of persons with disabilities, and discrimination and persecution targeting ethnic, religious, linguistic and other marginalised communities. Pakistan reiterated that the worsening human rights situation in Afghanistan reflected the Taliban authorities’ disregard for their international obligations, while stressing that the security threat posed by militant groups operating from Afghan territory remained a serious concern for the region.