Pakistan is prepared to share its knowledge with African nations to address terrorism. Akram
On Tuesday, Pakistan informed the UN Security Council of its willingness to share its counter-terrorism expertise with African nations to support their endeavors in restoring peace and stability, given the shift of the terrorism epicenter from the Middle East to the Central Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa.
“For the last forty years, Pakistan has been a leader in the battle against global terrorism,” stated Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, during the high-level meeting of the 15-member Council aimed at enhancing counter-terrorism efforts in Africa, convened by Algeria, the Council president for January.
Pakistan aims to enhance its collaboration with allied African nations, emphasizing its achievements in combating al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
“Pakistan is prepared to share its counter-terrorism expertise with African partners through the Security Council and in collaboration with the UNOCT (United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism), aiming to assist in the establishment of essential institutional frameworks and capacity-building to promote sustainable peace and stability in Africa.”
Inaugurating the discussion, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed stated that Africa regrettably continues to be the epicenter of global terrorism, necessitating enhanced efforts to fulfill international obligations to address this menace.
She underscored the Council’s pivotal role in bolstering African Union (AU) counter-terrorism efforts, rooted in African leadership and solutions.
Ms. Mohammed stated that terrorism represents the foremost threat to peace, security, and sustainable development in Africa today, and provided alarming figures illustrating its catastrophic impact.
Notwithstanding ongoing endeavors by member states, sub-Saharan Africa presently constitutes roughly 59 percent of all terrorism-related fatalities worldwide.
Ambassador Akram stated that Pakistan has incurred significant costs in the fight against terrorism, suffering over 80,000 casualties and substantial economic loss.
The Pakistani envoy stated, “Following the successful suppression of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations within our territory, Pakistan persists in addressing terrorist factions such as the TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) and Daesh, which operate from secure locations beyond our borders.”
Although al-Qaeda’s “core” was significantly weakened in Afghanistan, primarily due to Pakistan’s initiatives, several al-Qaeda affiliates have arisen in other regions, particularly North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Daesh was obliterated in Syria and Iraq; but, its affiliates have surfaced in Afghanistan and the Sahel. The Monitoring Team of the 1267 al-Qaeda and Daesh Sanctions Committee delineates the global menace presented by these terrorist organizations and their affiliates.
“We must collectively confront the terrorist threat through a comprehensive and coordinated strategy grounded in the global counter-terrorism framework,” stated Ambassador Akram.
“We are united in this struggle.”
The Pakistani envoy advocated for a regional strategy to create an effective security framework for combating terrorism.
He stated that the Security Council must promptly reach a consensus on the funding of the AU Missions, considering how its enforcement operations may be supported with appropriate equipment, training, and additional UN counterparts to fulfill their objectives.
The Pakistani envoy urged the African Union and its sub-regional entities to consider collaborations with other regional organizations, including the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
He also advocated for an evaluation of the efficacy and impact of the Security Council’s various sanctions regimes, observing that these have frequently demonstrated to be “blunt instruments” that minimally mitigate existing terrorist threats while hindering the socio-economic advancement of the affected nations.
Ambassador Akram stated, “We must confront the emerging cyber instruments of terrorism, such as the dark web and cryptocurrencies, which are increasingly employed for radicalization efforts, incitement to violence, terror financing, propaganda, and disinformation via social media,” emphasizing the necessity to tackle the fundamental reasons and root causes of terrorism in Africa. The factors encompass poverty, economic difficulties, inadequate governance, proliferation of small guns, existence of organized crime syndicates, illicit economies, drug trafficking, resource exploitation, and recurrent external interventions.
He said that Pakistani military units had engaged in initiatives to foster stability in Africa since the 1960s, participating in UN peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan, and South Sudan.