Pakistan also urged the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards vulnerable Afghan refugees and support efforts for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.
Speaking during the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, Counsellor Muhammad Jawad Ajmal thanked the Special Rapporteur for his report and briefing, and expressed concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan.
He observed that the denial of fundamental freedoms and basic dignity to women and girls reflected the Taliban’s continued retreat from their international commitments. Such discriminatory and abusive practices, he stressed, were also inconsistent with Islamic laws, traditions and the fundamental tenets of the Muslim faith.
In this context, he recalled that Pakistan had hosted the 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women in Islamabad in July 2026, which adopted the Islamabad Declaration expressing concern over the Taliban’s continued restrictions on women and girls as being contrary to Islamic values.
Highlighting Pakistan’s longstanding humanitarian contribution, Counsellor Ajmal noted that Pakistan had hosted millions of Afghan refugees over several decades, often in the absence of adequate international support.
While Pakistan continued to facilitate vulnerable Afghans within its available capacity, he stressed that the international community must step up and share the responsibility of addressing the refugee situation.
Turning to the security situation, he underscored that terrorism remained at the heart of Afghanistan’s challenges. He expressed serious concern over the presence and activities of terrorist groups, including the TTP, BLA, Majeed Brigade, Al-Qaida, ISIL-K and ETIM, and their affiliates, operating from Afghan territory. He highlighted the nexus between the Taliban and these groups, as well as the role of external actors supporting proxy elements targeting Pakistan and other neighbouring countries.
The Taliban’s continued failure to publicly denounce these groups, he observed, raised serious questions about their complicity and support.
Counsellor Jawad Ajmal stated that more than 4,700 innocent Pakistanis had lost their lives over the past three years alone in terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan. Referring to Pakistan’s actions on 16 March, he stated that Pakistan had precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including drone and ammunition storage facilities used by the TTP to target innocent Pakistani civilians.
He underscored that Pakistan could not remain passive in the face of continued terrorist attacks against its people and national security. He said that Pakistan would exercise its right to self-defence, whenever necessary and in accordance with international law, against any threat to its citizens and national security.
Concluding his remarks, Counsellor Ajmal called upon the Taliban authorities to honour their international commitments and obligations. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan that lives in harmony with itself and its neighbours.