Pakistan has called on the Afghan Taliban regime to stop repressing women and girls and to prevent terrorist groups from carrying out attacks from Afghan soil. Islamabad said Kabul must meet its international obligations. The call was made by Counsellor Muhammad Jawad Ajmal during an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, held in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
Ajmal urged the Taliban to take firm action against militant groups operating from Afghan territory. He said Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in terrorist incidents in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the two provinces that border Afghanistan, since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly asked Kabul to stop militants from using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan, but the Afghan Taliban regime has not addressed these concerns, he said.
Women’s rights and Afghan refugees at the UN
Ajmal said the denial of basic freedoms and dignity to women and girls showed the Taliban were moving away from their international commitments. He added that such discriminatory and abusive practices conflicted with Islamic law, traditions and the core principles of the Muslim faith.
The envoy also pointed to Pakistan’s long-standing role in hosting refugees. He said Islamabad had sheltered millions of Afghan refugees over several decades, often without adequate international support. He urged the wider international community to step up and share responsibility for the refugee situation, while Pakistan continues to help vulnerable Afghans within its available capacity.
Pakistan’s concerns over militant groups and strikes
On security, Ajmal said terrorism lay at the heart of Afghanistan’s problems. He voiced serious concern about the presence and activities of terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory. He also highlighted what he described as links between the Afghan Taliban and terror groups, as well as the role of external actors backing proxy elements that target Pakistan and other neighbouring countries.
“The Taliban’s continued failure to publicly denounce these groups raised serious questions about their complicity and support,” he said.
Ajmal referred to Pakistan’s actions on March 16. He said Pakistan had precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including drone and ammunition storage facilities used by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to attack Pakistani civilians. Pakistani forces had struck Afghan Taliban military installations in Kabul and Nangarhar on the night of March 16. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at the time that the armed forces “successfully carried out precision airstrikes” as part of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq.
Ajmal stated that Pakistan could not remain passive while terrorist attacks against its people and national security continued. He said Islamabad would exercise its right to self-defence, whenever necessary and in line with international law, against any threat to its citizens and national security.
US plan to deport Afghan immigrants
Separately, a US official and a coalition of veterans and advocacy groups said the administration of President Donald Trump plans to deport some Afghan immigrants to Afghanistan. Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, said on Friday that many of those facing removal had fled Afghanistan after the 2021 Taliban takeover and the US withdrawal. VanDiver said some of those facing deportation were “brothers and sons of men who served alongside US forces, families the Taliban already has every reason to target.”
The New York Times reported that more than 150 Afghan immigrants are expected to be deported, which it described as one of the largest single expulsions of Afghans. According to the newspaper, the administration detained dozens of Afghan immigrants in Louisiana and plans to deport them, with the first flight expected as soon as Monday. Trump has said his immigration crackdown and deportation drive aim to improve domestic security. The Homeland Security Department said it would not confirm future removal operations, citing operational security.
