The 16th report of the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, released on December 8, 2025, delivers one of the most candid and consequential international assessments of Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power. By unequivocally rejecting the Taliban’s long-standing claim that Afghan soil is not being used for terrorism, the report punctures a carefully cultivated narrative and validates concerns repeatedly raised by Pakistan and other regional states. More importantly, it confirms a grim reality: Afghanistan has once again emerged as a hub for transnational militancy, with direct and destabilizing consequences for regional and global security.

At the heart of the report lies a blunt conclusion—the Taliban’s assurances are “not credible.” This is not diplomatic ambiguity; it is an institutional indictment. The UN Monitoring Team establishes that multiple terrorist organizations, including Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Al Qaeda, and ETIM, continue to operate from Afghan territory. These groups are not merely present; they are actively planning, coordinating, and executing cross-border attacks. In doing so, the report decisively dismantles the Taliban’s claim to have fulfilled their counterterrorism commitments.

For Pakistan, the report is particularly significant. It identifies TTP as the most serious and immediate threat to Pakistan’s national security, noting that the group enjoys sanctuaries inside Afghanistan and, more troublingly, receives varying degrees of support from elements within the Taliban. While the report acknowledges internal Taliban debates over whether TTP has become a liability, the outcome of this indecision is clear: operational space for terrorists remains intact.

The numbers are stark. According to the UN findings, more than 600 TTP attacks were carried out in Pakistan in 2025 alone, many launched from Afghan soil. Several involved Afghan nationals as suicide bombers, underscoring the transnational nature of the threat. These figures are not merely statistics; they represent hundreds of lives lost, communities destabilized, and a persistent assault on Pakistan’s sovereignty. For years, Pakistan’s warnings were often dismissed as exaggeration or bilateral grievances. This report now places those warnings firmly within an internationally verified framework.

Equally alarming is the report’s assessment of Al Qaeda’s evolving strategy. The Monitoring Team notes that Al Qaeda has effectively “blended itself with TTP,” benefiting from a permissive environment in Afghanistan—whether through tacit Taliban acquiescence or outright inability to enforce control. This convergence of local and global jihadist agendas raises the stakes far beyond South Asia. It suggests that Afghanistan is not only a regional security problem but a renewed incubator for international terrorism.

Yet, amid these sobering findings, the report also highlights a crucial counterpoint: Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts. The arrest of ISKP spokesperson and chief propagandist Sultan Aziz Azzam on May 16, 2025, is cited as a significant achievement. This acknowledgment is not symbolic. By targeting ISKP’s media and ideological infrastructure, Pakistan struck at a critical pillar of modern terrorist operations—narrative warfare. The report further notes that Pakistan’s actions, combined with international cooperation, have degraded ISKP’s operational and propaganda capabilities, reinforcing Pakistan’s role as a key contributor to global counterterrorism.

This recognition matters because it challenges another persistent narrative: that Pakistan is part of the problem rather than part of the solution. The UNSC report makes clear that Pakistan is on the frontline of a war it did not choose but has borne disproportionately. It also underscores a fundamental imbalance: while Pakistan pays in blood and economic loss, the sanctuaries enabling these attacks remain largely untouched across the border.

The economic dimension highlighted in the report adds another layer of irony. Border closures resulting from security tensions are costing the Afghan economy nearly one million dollars per day. This is a self-inflicted wound. By allowing militant groups to operate freely, the Taliban are not only destabilizing their neighbors but also undermining Afghanistan’s own fragile economy. Militancy is not just a security liability; it is an economic dead end.

The UNSC report thus presents the international community with a clear choice. Continued ambiguity or selective engagement with the Taliban will only entrench Afghanistan’s role as a terror hub. The report implicitly calls for accountability—linking engagement, aid, and legitimacy to verifiable counterterrorism action. Without such conditionality, assurances will remain rhetorical, and the region will continue to pay the price.

Ultimately, the UNSC report strips away illusions. Afghanistan today is not a post-conflict state at peace with its neighbors—it is a complex and dangerous ecosystem of militant actors. Recognizing this reality is the first step toward addressing it. Ignoring it, as history has shown, is a risk the world can ill afford.