UN urged to close gaps in evolving terror fight

WASHINGTON: 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 highlighted the outlawed 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 UNSC discussion marking 25 years since the Sept 11 attacks. A new report by the UNSC's Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate 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 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 intelligence, gaming platforms and alternative online spaces as among the emerging tools being exploited by terrorist organisations. It warned that young people were increasingly being targeted through social media, gaming platforms and online communities, while violent extremist groups were using graphic material and online subcultures to facilitate radicalisation. 'Evolved and mutated' Against this backdrop, Pakistan's Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the council that the terrorist threat had 'evolved and mutated' since the 9/11 attacks and called for stronger international cooperation to counter it. He said the council's existing sanctions regimes also needed to be strengthened to address gaps in the global counter-terrorism framework. Mr Ahmad highlighted the growing use of artificial intelligence, drones, the dark web, virtual assets and cryptocurrencies by terrorist groups for propaganda, radicalisation, recruitment, networking, attack planning and financing. He pointed to continuing terrorist threats in Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan, warning that extremist groups were exploiting modern technologies and cross-border networks to expand their reach. Expressing particular concern over terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, Mr Ahmad said more than 4,700 Pakistanis had lost their lives to terrorism over the past three years. He called for effective international action against groups including the TTP, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Islamic State. The council observed a minute of silence for the victims of the Sept 11 attacks before members renewed calls for international cooperation against terrorism. US representative Michael G. Waltz recalled the 2,977 people killed in the Sept 11 attacks, including citizens from more than 90 countries, and paid tribute to the first responders who ran towards the burning World Trade Centre towers. British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Chris Elmore said the international response after 9/11 had strengthened cooperation, constrained terrorist financing, transformed border and aviation security and helped prevent attacks. France's UN ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said terrorist groups were increasingly using new technologies for propaganda, recruitment and financing, effectively turning innovations developed by others against their societies. Human rights costs The anniversary discussion, however, also brought a forceful warning that the international response to terrorism must not undermine the rights and freedoms it seeks to protect. More than 30 independent UN human rights experts said too many countries had adopted unnecessary and disproportionate responses after the Sept 11 attacks that seriously undermined human rights, civil society, civic space, democracy and the rule of law. The experts, appointed through the UN Human Rights Council but independent of the UN and unpaid for their work, said the so-called 'wars on terror' had stretched foundational rules of international law 'beyond their breaking point'. Worldwide monitoring over the past quarter century had exposed some of the gravest violations of international law committed in the name of countering terrorism, they said, citing wars of aggression, unlawful occupations, 'countless' war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as plausible allegations of genocide. They also highlighted assassinations presented as 'targeted killings', torture disguised as 'interrogation', secret detention, enforced disappearances and unfair military trials and special courts, including at the US-operated Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The experts urged states to review their counter-terrorism laws and practices to ensure compliance with international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. 'Unfinished task' UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in his anniversary message, described the Sept 11 attacks as 'an assault on humanity itself' and paid tribute to the nearly 3,000 victims, survivors and first responders. Mr Guterres noted that 2026 also marked 20 years since member states adopted the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, describing the fight against terrorism as a shared and unfinished task. Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026