Pakistan has once again urged the international community to collaborate in stopping the illegal flow of weapons to terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan. 

Syed Atif Raza, counsellor at the Pakistan Mission to the UN, addressed an Arria-Formua meeting of the UN Security Council, highlighting the problem of sophisticated weapons falling into the hands of groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which use Afghanistan as a base for attacks on Pakistan. 

Raza stated that these groups possess billions of dollars worth of illicit arms and receive external support, implicitly accusing India.

“These terrorist entities also receive external support and financing from our principal adversary,” he said.

He called for a global effort to recover abandoned weapons and shut down the illegal arms market. 

This concern echoes previous statements by Pakistani officials, including UN Ambassador Munir Akram and Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan, who have pointed to the presence of advanced US weapons in Afghanistan following the 2021 withdrawal, now being used by terrorist organizations.  The ongoing tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border attacks fuels Pakistan’s plea for international intervention.

A recent report by the Small Arms Survey had revealed that despite clampdowns by the Afghan Taliban, not only NATO but Soviet weapons continue to be sold in Pakistan and Afghanistan through informal markets.