THIS is with reference to the report `T TP still gets financial, logistic support from Afghan Taliban` (Feb 15), according to which the 35th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations submitted to the Security Council confirmed that the Afghan Taliban were still supporting the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) despite Pakistan`s serious objections. The report is a damning indictment of the international community`s selective silence on terrorism.

While Pakistan has persistently urged the Afghan Taliban to rein in the proscribed groups and fulfil their commitments under the Doha Agreement, the reality is that the Taliban regime has not only failed to act, but has actively provided financial, logistical and operational support to the TTP, emboldening them to carry out relentless attacks against Pakistan.

The UN report exposes the alarming depth of this collaboration, revealing that the Afghan Taliban grant safe havens to the TTP, facilitate its training camps in Kunar, Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika, and even provide monthly financial aid to the TTP leadership. This is not mere negligence; this is calculated complicity.

Pakistan`s patience has long been tested, and diplomatic engagements have yielded little more than vague assurances. This diplomatic impasse has forced Pakistan to take matters into its own hands. Despite Pakistan`s legitimate security concerns and the extensive sacrifices it has made in the fight against terrorism, global powers remain eerily silent.

The veryforcesthat once lauded Pakistan`s role in counterterrorism now look the other way. Why does international scrutiny seem to be dictated by political convenience rather than the principles of global security? The blatant hypocrisy of international powers becomes even more evident whenjuxtaposed with the staggering financial inflows into Afghanistan post-2021.

Reports, including those from the Special Inspector-General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), have disclosed that since the abrupt and chaotic American withdrawal, billions of dollars have flowed into the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan without adequate oversight.

It is no secret that this unmonitored financial support has indirectly strengthened militant groups, including the TTP, that now operate with alarming impunity against Pakistan. A letter from an American senator to Congress has already revealed that these funds have, in one way or another, ended up empowering the Taliban regime.

The United States has conveniently turned a blind eye to how its own actions have directly contributed to Pakistan`s worsening security predicament. This is nothing short of betrayal. As if the escalating crisis on Pakistan`s western border was not enough, regional power imbalances continue to be exacerbated by the unholy nexus between the US and India.

If there is any sincerity left in global counterterrorism efforts, now is the time for tangible action against the Afghan Taliban`s sponsorship of the TTP.

Otherwise, history will remember this selective silence as complicity in yet another cycle of regional instability.

Majid Burfat Karachi