United Nations
Pakistan has told the UN Security Council that effective border controls are a “prerequisite” to clamping down on the twin threats of terrorism and organised crime.
In an open Council debate on ‘Threats to international peace and security: Linkage between international terrorism and organized crime’, Ambassador Munir Akram said that only through collective regional and international efforts could the world community choke off the various sources that support terrorist outfits through organized crime.
“We will continue to play our role to sever the vicious link between terrorism and organized crime in our region,” the Pakistani envoy said. “This is critical for our own people, as well as for our neighbourhood and indeed the rest of the world,” he said.
Ambassador Akram said the crime-terrorist nexus varies across different contexts, with several common areas of confluence, including financing tools, recruiting vulnerable youth and operating in areas outside Government control.
“Being one of the principal victims of terrorism, Pakistan’s resolve to eliminate this scourge is clear and unwavering,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council. Terrorist organizations like Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) attack Pakistan using their bases outside of borders, he said, adding these are mercenary terrorist groups and work with third country’s state patronage for profit generation.
“This nexus of mercenary terrorists and their patrons generate finances through proceeds from narco-trade, kidnapping for ransom, extortion and smuggling of natural resources like timber,” Ambassador Akram said. “One example of this patronage was proven by the arrest of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian intelligence agent,” he said, pointing out that he was running a syndicate of criminals and terrorists to foment terrorism in Pakistan.
