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Express Tribune
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan takes up arms flows to TTP, BLA at UNSC
A Pakistani diplomat has called for concerted efforts to intercept clandestine flows of modern and sophisticated weapons that support UN-sanctioned armed groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and its Majeed Brigade who, he said, use safe havens in Afghanistan to launch deadly cross-border attacks inside Pakistan. "Terrorist armed groups are in possession of billions worth of illicit arms abandoned in Afghanistan," Syed Atif Raza, a counselor at the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations, told an Arria-Formua meeting of the UN Security Council, convened by Sierra Leone. This format of Council's meeting is named after a former Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN, Diego Arriva. It is a consultation process which affords members of the Security Council the opportunity to hear persons in an informal setting. Speaking in a debate on 'Small Arms and Light Weapons Management in UN Sanctions Regimes', the Pakistani delegate said such armament was being used by TTP and BLA terrorists in violence against civilians and armed forces of Pakistan. "These terrorist entities also receive external support and financing from our principal adversary," Counselor Raza said in an obvious reference to India. "We call upon our international partners to recover the vast stockpile of abandoned weapons, prevent their access to armed terrorist groups and take measures to close this thriving black market of illicit arms." The misuse and illicit flow of small arms and light weapons aggravates conflicts, threatens socio-economic progress and subverts peace and security, he said, pointing out that they have become instruments of choice for state and non-state actors. He said that these concerns were further compounded with increasing sophistication of illicit arms and access to modernized weapons at the disposal of illegal armed groups often operating across national boundaries. "We know that non-state actors do not have many of the capabilities to manufacture advanced illicit arms, thus raising questions of culpability of certain state actors in these nefarious activities," the Pakistani delegate added.
Express Tribune
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan urges global action to stop arms flow to TTP, BLA
Pakistan has called for an international crackdown on the illegal flow of arms to terrorist organisations, warning that groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) are using advanced weapons, abandoned in Afghanistan, to carry out cross-border attacks. Speaking at a UN Security Council Arria-formula meeting on Small Arms and Light Weapons Management in UN Sanctions Regimes, Syed Atif Raza, counsellor at Pakistan's permanent mission to the UN, said these terrorist entities were exploiting ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan to launch deadly operations targeting both civilians and security forces in Pakistan. 'Terrorist armed groups are in possession of billions worth of illicit arms abandoned in Afghanistan,' Raza told the informal consultation hosted by Sierra Leone. 'We call upon our international partners to recover the vast stockpile of abandoned weapons, prevent their access to armed terrorist groups and take measures to close this thriving black market of illicit arms.' The diplomat stressed that groups such as the TTP, BLA and its suicide wing, the Majeed Brigade, had not only gained access to sophisticated weaponry but were also receiving external support and funding. While not naming any country directly, Raza referred to Pakistan's 'principal adversary'—a clear reference to India. 'These terrorist entities also receive external support and financing from our principal adversary,' he said. He added that the misuse and illicit trade of small arms and light weapons was contributing to regional instability, hampering development, and undermining peacebuilding efforts. Raza further warned that non-state actors lack the industrial capacity to manufacture advanced arms, raising serious questions about the role of certain state actors in enabling such groups. 'We know that non-state actors do not have many of the capabilities to manufacture advanced illicit arms, thus raising questions of culpability of certain state actors in these nefarious activities,' he said. He called on the UN to enhance mechanisms for arms recovery, improve monitoring under sanctions regimes, and increase accountability for countries involved in trafficking or facilitating such weapons. The Arria-formula meeting, named after former Venezuelan ambassador Diego Arria, provides Security Council members an informal platform to hear from non-state actors or other stakeholders on pressing global issue.
