ISLAMABAD: Continued support from Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has contributed to an increase in the frequency and deadliness of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, even as Kabul has taken limited measures to restrain the group, according to a UN Security Council-mandated monitoring report.
The report also highlights growing operational and facilitation links between the TTP, Al Qaeda, Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIL-K) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
The 38th report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, covering December 16, 2025, to June 9, 2026, said cross-border violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan had intensified amid a rise in TTP attacks against Pakistan.
It said that “the de facto authorities (Taliban) continued their support to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which escalated attacks against Pakistan, provoking military exchanges”.
The report warned that the continuing conflict could provide terrorist groups with new opportunities and create additional security challenges for the wider region.
Taliban adopts dual-track approach
The UN assessment noted some initial efforts by the Taliban authorities to contain the TTP, but suggested these measures were focused more on managing the group than dismantling its infrastructure.
According to the report, Afghan authorities relocated around 2,000 TTP fighters and their families from areas near the Pakistani border to locations deeper inside Afghanistan.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada also reportedly warned TTP leaders through backchannel communications to stop attacks against Pakistan or risk losing Taliban support.
The measures suggest a dual-track policy in which the Taliban continues to provide the TTP with space and support because of their ideological ties, while attempting to move fighters away from the border to reduce attacks, prevent further escalation with Islamabad and respond to international pressure.
For Pakistan, however, the relocation of TTP fighters deeper into Afghanistan would not resolve the broader threat if the group’s leadership, training and logistical infrastructure remains intact.
The TTP has also continued expanding its organisational and operational capabilities. Following its annual rahbari shura in December, the group announced two new divisions covering Balochistan and the central region, as well as Kashmir and Gilgit.
It also announced a new division called the “TTP Air Force”, indicating efforts to expand its operational capabilities.
In March, the group announced its spring campaign, “Operation Khyber”, in several languages, urging increased attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians.
One of the deadliest attacks during the reporting period occurred on February 16 in Bajaur, where a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device killed 11 security personnel and a child and wounded several others. The TTP claimed responsibility, and the report said the group was operating from Afghanistan.
Growing links among militant groups
The UN report also highlighted increasingly overlapping relationships between militant organisations operating from Afghanistan.
Al Qaeda’s official media outlet, As-Sahab Media Foundation, issued a statement on April 28 backing the Taliban and, for the first time, openly supporting the TTP’s operations against Pakistan.
While Al Qaeda had previously provided the TTP with ideological guidance, training and other assistance, the statement represented more direct support for the group, according to the report.
“One member state reported that BLA terrorists were trained along with TTP by Al Qaeda trainers in Afghanistan,” the report said.
It also stated that Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) formed the backbone of Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan, which was reportedly involved in several attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
AQIS leaders were reportedly still based in Kabul after receiving tazkiras, indicating “close cooperation between the Taliban and AQIS”, according to the assessment.
The report therefore describes a broader militant ecosystem in Afghanistan, with different groups increasingly sharing training, facilitation and logistical networks.
ISIL-K threat
ISIL-K remains another major security concern. The report described the group as the greatest threat to the Taliban authorities and the wider region, despite significant losses from counterterrorism operations conducted by Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.
ISIL-K has reportedly shifted parts of its operational infrastructure towards northern Afghanistan while spreading training networks across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It also retains a presence around Kabul.
The UN said ISIL-K was rebuilding after shifting away from attempts to control territory and instead focusing on fewer but high-profile mass-casualty attacks.
Member states reported that the group possessed advanced tactical equipment, including drones, night-vision equipment and thermal imagers, and had received training in urban combat and drone operations.
One member state also reported that ISIL-K and the BLA shared logistical and facilitation networks.
While ISIL-K attacks have declined in Afghanistan, the report said they have increased in Pakistan.
On February 6, a suicide bomber detonated explosives during Friday prayers at the Khadija Tul Kubra Mosque in Islamabad, killing 32 people and injuring more than 150. The attack was claimed by a group calling itself ISIL in Pakistan but was likely carried out by ISIL-K, according to the report.
The group also claimed responsibility for the May 5 assassination of Pakistani cleric Sheikh Muhammad Idrees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The UN findings indicate that Pakistan faces an increasingly complex militant threat originating from Afghanistan, with the TTP retaining Taliban support, Al Qaeda providing training and ideological backing, and ISIL-K and the BLA benefiting from overlapping facilitation networks.
While the Taliban’s relocation of TTP fighters and reported warning to its leadership could ease immediate pressure along the border, the UN assessment does not indicate that Kabul has taken the more significant step of ending its relationship with the TTP.
