Pakistan urges UN to close gaps in fight against evolving terror threat

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Saturday urged the UN Security Council to strengthen its counter-terrorism mechanisms and close gaps in sanctions regimes as a new UN assessment warned that terrorist groups were rapidly adapting their propaganda, recruitment and financing methods. The UN report specifically highlights the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as an example of how terrorist groups increasingly use propaganda to reinforce their operations, exploit local grievances, build legitimacy, facilitate fundraising and shape perceptions of authority. Meanwhile, more than 30 independent UN human-rights experts warned that the 25-year campaign against terrorism had also taken a heavy toll on human rights and fundamental freedoms, while stretching the boundaries of international law.

The two concerns — the rapidly evolving terrorist threat and the consequences of the international response to it — dominated a Security Council discussion marking 25 years since the Sept 11 attacks . A new report by the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) said terrorist propaganda had moved far beyond messaging and had become embedded in the operational structure of terrorist groups, helping them recruit fighters, raise funds, plan operations and, in some cases, govern territory. The report specifically identified the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), along with Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM, Al-Shabaab and ISIL-K, among terrorist groups active in and around Pakistan and Afghanistan. It said terrorist groups were adapting their propaganda strategies faster than governments could respond, creating what it called an “acceleration gap” between terrorist tactics and the legislation and policies of member states. The report identified artificial…