Up to 6,000-6,500 Pakistani ultras in Afghan: UN report

United Nations, July 25: An estimated 6,000-6,500 Pakistani terrorists are in neighbouring Afghanistan, most of them with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, posing a threat to both the countries, a UN report has said.

The 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning IS, alQaida and associated individuals and entities said that the terror group alQaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operates under the Taliban umbrella from Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan.

“The group reportedly has between 150 and 200 members from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and

Pakistan. The current leader of AQIS is Osama Mahmood…, who succeeded the late Asim Umar.”

AQIS is reportedly planning retaliation operations in the region to avenge the death of its former leader,” it said.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a “large terrorist group present in Afghanistan”, has claimed responsibility for various high-profile attacks in Pakistan and has facilitated others by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Lahskhar-e-Islam, the report said. It said that many former TTP militants have joined Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant — Khorasan (ISIL-K) and member states expect that the group and its various splinter groups will align themselves with ISIL-K.

“The total number of Pakistani foreign terrorist fighters in Afghanistan, posing a threat to both countries, is estimated at between 6,000 and 6,500, most of them with TTP,” it said, adding that a number of other terrorist groups are active in Afghanistan, most operating under the umbrella of the Taliban but some aligned with ISIL-K.

The report comes over a fortnight after India at the UN asked Pakistan to introspect as to why it is universally acknowledged as the “international epicentre” of terrorism and the “best safe haven for terrorists”.