Pakistan warns of Taliban repression as UN expert urges accountability

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has warned that the Taliban continue to allow terrorist groups to operate from Afghan soil, as a UN human rights expert urged member states not to normalise relations with the Kabul regime without verifiable improvements in human rights.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council’s interactive dialogue on Afghanistan on Thursday evening, Pakistan’s representative Muhammad Jawad Ajmal said more than 4,700 Pakistanis had been killed in terrorist attacks originating from Afghanistan over the past three years.

Separately, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett told the General Assembly that five years after seizing power, the Taliban had shown no willingness to reverse systematic human rights violations. Instead, he said, they had continued to deepen restrictions, particularly on women and girls.

Mr Ajmal said the deteriorating human rights situation reflected the Taliban’s continued disregard for their international obligations. Women and girls were being denied fundamental freedoms and basic dignity through practices that, he said, violated Islamic law, traditions and tenets of the Muslim faith.

He cited the ninth Ministerial Conference on Women, hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad in July, at which the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation adopted the Islamabad Declaration, expressing concern that Taliban restrictions on women and girls were inconsistent with Islamic values.

Mr Bennett urged member states to refrain from normalising relations with the Taliban until they reversed their oppressive policies.

Recent decrees, he said, had further undermined women’s rights, enabled violence against them and made it nearly impossible for women to leave abusive relationships. He also pointed out that the Taliban regime had permitted child marriages.

Pakistan’s statement focused heavily on the security threat it says originates from Afghanistan.

Mr Ajmal accused the Taliban of maintaining close links with terrorist organisations. He alleged that these groups operated with impunity on Afghan soil, with support from external actors targeting Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. The Taliban’s failure to publicly denounce them, he said, demonstrated their complicity and active support.

Mr Bennett’s report documented arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan.

It also highlighted restrictions on freedom of expression, the exclusion of persons with disabilities, and discrimination or persecution faced by ethnic, religious, linguistic and other marginalised minorities.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026