Afghanistan Remains Primary Source Of Terrorist Threat For Central And South Asia: UN Report

United Nations: Afghanistan remains the primary source of terrorist threat for Central and South Asia, with groups such as ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan enjoying greater freedom of movement in the country owing to the absence of an effective Taliban security strategy, a UN report has said.

The 31st report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (ISIL, Al-Qaida), was issued here on Tuesday.The report said that Afghanistan remains the primary source of terrorist threat for Central and South Asia.

It originates from groups including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant- Khorasan (ISIL-K), Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, as well as ETIM/TIP (Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Islamic Jihad Group, Khatiba Imam al-Bukhari, Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, Jamaat Ansarullah and others.

These groups enjoy greater freedom of movement in Afghanistan owing to the absence of an effective Taliban security strategy, the report said. It said that ISIL-K portrays itself as the primary rival” to the Taliban de facto administration, with its strategic focus on Afghanistan and beyond in the historical Khorasan region. Its main goal is to portray the Taliban as incapable of providing security in the country.

By targeting diplomatic missions, ISIL-K seeks to undermine the relationship between the Taliban and neighbouring countries, it said.The report noted that the September 5 attack last year on the Russian Embassy in Kabul was the first against a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control; in December, ISIL-K claimed attacks against the Pakistan Embassy and a hotel that accommodated Chinese nationals.

It also threatened to launch terrorist attacks against Chinese, Indian and Iranian embassies in Afghanistan.Apart from high-profile attacks, ISIL-K conducts low-level attacks nearly daily, causing fear in local communities, targeting Shia minorities to undermine Taliban Pashtun authority and challenging nascent security agencies, the report said.

The 16th report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peace and security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, issued last week, had also noted that ISIL-K threatened to launch terrorist attacks against the Embassies of India, Iran and China in Afghanistan and by targeting diplomatic missions, the terror group sought to undermine the relationship between the Taliban and UN Member States in the Central and South Asia region.