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ISLAMABAD: Russia&#39;s top security official told regional leaders that between 18,000 and 23,000 armed terrorists from more than 20 separate groups are currently active inside Afghanistan, warning that the country remains a direct security threat to the broader region. According to Russia&#39;s state news agency TASS, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu delivered the assessment at the 21st meeting of security council secretaries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, held May 14 in Bishkek under Kyrgyz chairmanship. &quot;The situation in Afghanistan is of particular importance for ensuring security in the SCO space,&quot; Shoigu said, as quoted by TASS. &quot;This primarily concerns the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking emanating from its territory.&quot; ISIS presence put at 3,000 fighters Shoigu said ISIS affiliate operating in Afghanistan numbers around 3,000 members, according to Russian data. In 2025 alone, ISIS carried out 12 major terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, killing 40 military personnel and 25 civilians and wounding more than 50 others, as reported by TASS. Foreign fighters flowing in from Syria The Russian official Shoigu said there has been a notable increase in terrorists of Tajik and Uzbek origin entering Afghanistan from Syria. They were drawn from factions of the former Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is designated a terrorist organization in Russia. He noted that some of these fighters remain outside the control of the interim Afghan government. Taliban enabling cross-border terrorism While the Afghan Taliban publicly denies hosting terrorist groups, international organizations have documented a starkly different picture on the ground. According to UN Security Council monitoring reports, the Taliban operates what assessors describe as a &quot;permissive environment,&quot; one in which multiple armed groups plan and launch attacks against neighboring states from Afghan soil. The UN has reported that the Afghan Taliban provides approximately $43,000 per month to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the largest foreign terrorist &nbsp;group operating in Afghanistan with over 6,000 fighters. According to UN findings, the Taliban&#39;s General Directorate of Intelligence has established guest houses in Kabul for senior TTP leadership. They were also granted movement passes and weapons permits that effectively shield them from arrest. Cross-border attacks attributed to TTP operating from Afghan bases rose from 573 in 2021 to over 1,200 in 2024, according to UN assessments. Pakistan has issued repeated high-level diplomatic protests condemning the Taliban for providing sanctuary and arms used in those attacks. UN Secretary-General Ant&oacute;nio Guterres and multiple UN experts have stated that the Taliban must honor its international obligation to prevent Afghan territory from being used to threaten the security of other states. SCO meeting addresses wider threat landscape As per the SCO&#39;s official readout of the Bishkek meeting, participants also discussed pressing issues in the current international security environment, with specific attention to new risks in cybersecurity and information security. The gathering was attended by heads and senior officials from security council secretariats of member states, along with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev and the director of the SCO&#39;s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. Yermekbayev said the organization is modernizing its security cooperation mechanisms. This includes establishing new specialized bodies to coordinate responses to terrorism, transnational organized crime, and cyber threats, according to the SCO&#39;s statement. UN assessments align with Russian figures International estimates reported by the UN Security Council Monitoring Team as of May 2026 similarly place the number of foreign terrorist fighters in Afghanistan at between 13,000 and 23,000. The UN&#39;s 37th monitoring report, issued in February 2026, found that some fighters have been integrated directly into Taliban-led security structures, a finding at odds with the Taliban&#39;s public position. The SCO&#39;s member states include Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, and four Central Asian republics; countries that collectively share borders with Afghanistan or face direct spillover from terrorist activity operating on its soil.

Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu leaves after his bilateral meeting with Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at the Defence Ministry in Jakarta on February 25, 2025. (AFP)

Afghanistan

Moscow says militants arriving from Syria, rising ISIS attacks and Taliban facilitation of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have intensified fears that Afghan territory is increasingly being used to coordinate violence, destabilize neighboring countries, and expand extremist networks across Central and South Asia.

Over 20 terrorist groups active in Afghanistan, Russia warns SCO leaders

ISLAMABAD: At least seven people, including two police officers, were martyred and several others wounded in a roadside explosion in a crowded market in Pakistan&#39;s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, according to security sources. The blast took place in Sarai Naurang Bazaar in <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/eight-militants-killed-in-pakistans-northwest-security-sources" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 115, 230);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lakki Marwat district</a>, a restive area near Pakistan&rsquo;s border with Afghanistan. According to initial reports, the device was planted on a motorcycle parked in the market area and detonated during business hours. Rescue officials said the injured were taken to a nearby hospital, though the exact number of wounded was not immediately confirmed. Security forces sealed off the area after the explosion and launched a search operation. According to security sources, following the success of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-says-796-afghan-taliban-terrorists-killed-as-operation-enters-sixth-week" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ghazab lil-Haq</a>&nbsp;(a cross-border military operation by the Pakistan armed forces to eliminate terrorism), Fitna al-Khwarij have reacted with anger. They have begun targeting civilian and other soft targets under external direction from India. After these incidents, strong anger and resentment have been reported among the people of Lakki Marwat toward the group. Pakistan PM orders probe&nbsp; Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the roadside explosion, according to a statement from the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office.&nbsp; According to the PMO, PM Sharif said authorities were working to eliminate terrorism and would not allow such attacks to hinder &ldquo;peace and development.&rdquo; He directed officials to complete an inquiry into the explosion in Sarai Naurang Bazaar, identify those responsible and bring them to justice.&nbsp; The prime minister said security forces and civilians had made significant sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. He also prayed for the victims and called for the recovery of those injured.

Security personnel inspect the blast site after a suicide attack in the Sarai Naurang area of Pakistan’s Lakki Marwat district on May 12, 2026. (AFP)

Security

Security forces cordon off the area and launch a search operation following the explosion, officials say.

Seven martyred in roadside bombing in Pakistan's KP province

Ayesha Mir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ruled out any dialogue with the Afghan Taliban, saying there is &ldquo;nothing to talk about&rdquo; until terrorism originating from Afghan soil comes to an end, Prime Minister&rsquo;s Spokesperson for Foreign Media Mosharraf Zaidi said Friday.&nbsp;Speaking to Pakistan TV Digital, Zaidi rejected suggestions of renewed talks after Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid indicated openness to dialogue.&nbsp;&ldquo;There won&rsquo;t be any talks. There&rsquo;s no dialogue. There&rsquo;s no negotiation. Terrorism from Afghanistan has to end,&rdquo; Zaidi said, describing Pakistan&rsquo;s position as clear and unchanged.<div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LbLPjNXSs4I" title="Pakistan seeks to neutralize threats from Afghanistan: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div>He said militancy inside Afghanistan is an internal issue for the Afghan Taliban regime, but stressed that Pakistan&rsquo;s responsibility is limited to protecting its own citizens and territory.&nbsp;&ldquo;If we know that there&rsquo;s a terrorist at point A and there&rsquo;s a terrorist enabler at point A,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-says-us-will-not-intervene-in-pakistanafghan-situation" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">we will find a weapon to land at point A and eliminate the threat</a>,&rdquo; Zaidi said, underscoring that Pakistan has already outlined both its actions and the conditions required for de-escalation.&nbsp;Zaidi added that responsibility for reducing instability rests not only with the Afghan Taliban &ldquo;regime in question&rdquo; but also with the wider international community, which he said must ensure Afghan soil is not used for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/ttptaliban-nexus-exposed-as-attacks-and-retaliation-mirror-each-other" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">cross-border terrorism</a>.&nbsp;In a separate interview, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar echoed the hardline stance, saying Pakistan&rsquo;s objective is to neutralize threats and ensure national security.&nbsp;Earlier, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said military operations would continue &ldquo;until the desired end.&rdquo; Asked to clarify that objective, Tarar said it meant eliminating terrorist threats and making Pakistan safe.&nbsp;&ldquo;For us, we&rsquo;ve been good neighbors, very friendly and very generous neighbors,&rdquo; Tarar said. &ldquo;Our generosity has often been seen as weakness.&rdquo;&nbsp;On the possibility of a ceasefire, Tarar said it was &ldquo;too early to comment,&rdquo; citing a fluid security situation. He also dismissed the prospect of Afghanistan gaining meaningful external backing.&nbsp;&ldquo;They have been trying to make alliances, but whatever they stand for is not acceptable anywhere,&rdquo; he said, adding that expectations of outside support were &ldquo;wishful thinking.&rdquo;&nbsp;Both officials stressed that Pakistan&rsquo;s policy remains focused on countering militancy and restoring stability, with no immediate shift in approach under consideration.

Talking to Pakistan TV Digital, Pakistani officials say there will be no dialogue with the Afghan Taliban until terrorism from Afghan soil ends, stressing Pakistan will act decisively to eliminate threats and protect national security.

Articles tagged with "cross border terrorism"

Over 20 terrorist groups active in Afghanistan, Russia warns SCO leaders

Seven martyred in roadside bombing in Pakistan's KP province

‘No dialogue’: Pakistan says terrorism from Afghanistan must end