UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has voiced serious concern over the growing use of modern and sophisticated illicit weapons by terrorist groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and its Majeed Brigade. Speaking at an informal UN Security Council meeting, Pakistan called for international cooperation to curb the flow of these arms, which are used in cross-border attacks against Pakistan.
Syed Atif Raza, Counselor at Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, highlighted that billions of dollars worth of weapons—abandoned during the withdrawal from Afghanistan—have fallen into the hands of terrorist groups. These arms are now being used by UN-sanctioned organizations to launch deadly attacks on civilians and Pakistan’s armed forces from safe havens in Afghanistan.
Addressing an Arria-Formula meeting on the management of small arms and light weapons in UN sanctions regimes, Raza emphasized the urgent need to intercept the clandestine supply chains fueling such groups. He warned that these terrorist entities also receive external financial and logistical support from Pakistan’s “principal adversary”—a veiled reference to India.
He urged the global community to take concrete steps to recover the stockpiles of abandoned weapons, prevent further access to armed groups, and dismantle the thriving black market of illicit arms.
The Arria-Formula meetings are informal sessions of the Security Council, named after former Venezuelan Ambassador Diego Arria, and provide an open platform for UN members to engage in candid dialogue on pressing issues.
Pakistan reiterated its commitment to combating terrorism and called for stronger international enforcement mechanisms to ensure that weapons do not end up in the wrong hands.
