He reiterated his support in the interview for the African Union to become a full member of the G20…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the United Nations to reform in line with 21st-century realities to ensure the representation of voices that matter.
A “mid-20th century approach cannot serve the world in the 21st century”, Modi, who will host a summit of the Group of 20 big economies from next weekend, said.
Modi, leader of the world’s most populous country and aspirant to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council is seeking to boost India’s status and promote its causes, such as relief for unsustainable debt, using the global pulpit of the G20 summit starting on 9 September.
He reiterated his support in the interview for the African Union to become a full member of the G20.
The two-day summit will showcase India’s highest-profile guest list ever, from US President Joe Biden to French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“International institutions need to recognise changing realities, relook at their priorities,” Modi said, adding it was critical to ensure the representation of voices. “India’s G20 presidency also sowed seeds of confidence in countries of so-called third world.”
Inflation hits India’s many poor people especially hard. Economists in a Reuters poll have sharply raised their inflation forecasts for this quarter, expecting price rises to stay above the central bank’s 6 per cent limit until at least October.
Modi called for global cooperation in fighting cybercrime, saying, “Terrorists using the dark net, metaverse and cryptocurrency to fulfil nefarious aims can have implications for the social fabric of nations.”
People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in the al-Masharqa neighborhood of Aleppo city, northern Syria, on Feb. 7, 2023. Massive earthquakes have killed 364 people and wounded 702 others in Aleppo city, the media office at the Aleppo governorate headquarters told Xinhua. (Str/Xinhua)
On February 6, two back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.8 and 7.7 on the Richter scale struck Turkey and Syria….reports Asian Lite News
The UN has carried out 200 cross-border missions to Syria since the first inter-agency visit to Idlib on February 14, following the devastating earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkey, a spokesman said.
During the latest mission that took place on Sunday that crossed through Bab al-Salam, World Health Organization (WHO) personnel conducted monitoring visits to health facilities and warehouses in Afrin and Azaz and also met their local partners, Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying on Tuesday.
“We and our humanitarian partners are continuing to deliver urgently needed aid through the Bab al-Salam and Al-Ra’ee crossings,” he said.
“Today, 17 trucks carrying humanitarian shelter items from the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency crossed into the Northwest via Bab al-Salam.”
Bab al-Salam and Al-Ra’ee, on the Turkish border, were opened for an initial period of three months in the aftermath of the February earthquakes.
The authorisation has been renewed several times.
Dujarric said the world body is yet to begin to make use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, which was the major route of cross-border aid delivery into Northwest Syria before the Security Council failed in July to reauthorise its use.
The Syrian government had since offered to grant permission for aid delivery through Bab al-Hawa, also on the Turkish border, and reached an understanding on August 7 with the UN on the continued use of the crossing for six months.
“What is going on is that we’re still trying to work out the operational details on how to put the agreement to work,” said Dujarric.
On February 6, two back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.8 and 7.7 on the Richter scale struck Turkey and Syria.
The confirmed death toll stood at 59,259 — 50,783 in Turkey and 8,476 in Syria.
It was the deadliest earthquakes in both the neighbouring nations in recent history.
Reverse decrees limiting women's rights, UN urges Taliban.(Photo : Twitter.com/unwomenafghan)
On World Entrepreneurs Day, the UN expressed its support for Afghan women entrepreneurs throughout Afghanistan..reports Asian Lite News
The United Nations applauded the Afghan women and expressed support for their efforts in job creation and contribution to economic growth, amid continuous oppression by the Taliban regime, Khaama Press reported.
On World Entrepreneurs Day, the UN expressed its support for Afghan women entrepreneurs throughout Afghanistan. The organization praised their efforts in job creation and contribution to economic growth.
“On World Entrepreneurs Day, we praise the amazing Afghan women entrepreneurs we work with nationwide. We proudly support them and their drive to innovate, create jobs, participate and contribute to economic growth against all odds,” UN Women Afghanistan said on X (formerly Twitter).
Notably, amidst daunting challenges, women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan have become the bedrock of the economy. These women have excelled across diverse domains, from modest handicraft ventures to expansive cross-sector enterprises. Their businesses create local jobs and promote self-sustainability, bolstering the nation’s economic resilience. The United Nations’ acknowledgment of their contributions underscores their far-reaching influence, Khaama Press reported.
However, despite such conditions, Afghan women entrepreneurs have continued to voice their concerns, expressing that the UN’s support for them is lacking.
“The United Nations only has luxury offices, which costs a huge amount per month, but unfortunately, it does not support women in the slightest, and in such a situation, I personally, as an entrepreneur, expect the United Nations to cooperate with Afghan women entrepreneurs,” according to Nafisa Danesh, a member of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce data, government support drives thousands of women entrepreneurs to invest across diverse sectors.
The Women’s Chamber of Commerce boasts 560 members. Nationally, approximately 8,000 Afghan women are actively engaged in diverse business sectors, primarily focusing on handicrafts, agriculture, health, services, food, industry, and mining, as stated by Taliban spokesperson Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada.
“The presence of women in the investment and economic fields of the country can increase the food security of families and limit the scope of poverty in the country,” Khaama Press quoted Akhundzada as saying.
Afghanistan’s women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces and they have been restricted to their homes and enforcing stringent policies.
Khaama Press reported citing recent statistics that around 60,000 women have already lost their jobs due to the Taliban’s recent edict, which prohibits the operation of women’s beauty salons.
Moreover, girls and women, including secondary schools and universities, are prohibited from pursuing education under the regime.
Taliban leaders have also disregarded international calls for women and girls to be given access to education and employment. Apparently, they have also issued warnings to other nations not to meddle in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.
The women are also denied opportunities to work with aid agencies and are barred from involvement with UN organizations. These regressive policies and actions have been labelled as “gender apartheid” by the United Nations, which has also sounded the alarm about such measures’ potential economic and financial repercussions, Khaama Press reported. (ANI)
The target is for the entire mission to be out of the country by December 31, following a June UN Security Council resolution honouring Bamoko’s request for the mission’s standdown…reports Asian Lite News
The UN peacekeeping chief has urged the mission in Mali to speedily transfer tasks to authorities and partners for a safe withdrawal from the country, a UN spokesman said.
“Jean-Pierre Lacroix has concluded his visit to the country, after a series of meetings with senior officials from the transitional government, including Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga,” said Stephane Dujarric, Chief Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Monday, at the end of Lacroix’s two-day visit.
Dujarric said Lacroix discussed lessons learned during the first phase of the mission’s withdrawal, expected to be completed by month’s end, Xinhua news agency reported.
Last week, members of the mission, known as MINUSMA, pulled back from a few of their smaller bases in the northern Timbuktu region, peacekeepers reported.
The target is for the entire mission to be out of the country by December 31, following a June UN Security Council resolution honouring Bamoko’s request for the mission’s standdown.
The UN spokesman said Lacroix thanked authorities for their cooperation, adding that it “is critical to ensuring a safe and orderly withdrawal in a tight timeframe and challenging environment”. The peacekeeping chief urged continued progress on the transfer of tasks from the mission not only to the Malian authorities but also to the UN country team and other partners.
The Security Council mandated MINUSMA in 2013, which has proved to be one of the deadliest UN missions, with more than 300 peacekeepers killed in the line of duty as of June 30 this year.
The Finance Minister said that easy to use for people belonging to all walks of life, “the digital public goods are all government-owned and there is no private profiteering on this”…reports Asian Lite News
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that G20 nations look up to India and praise the achievements in its digital public goods infrastructure.
“Today, when I address the G20 nations, we are proud to highlight that all of them admire India for its prolific use of technology and its leadership in utilising digital public goods. A significant portion of our Indian youth are making remarkable contributions in these areas,” she said in a video address.
The Finance Minister said that easy to use for people belonging to all walks of life, “the digital public goods are all government-owned and there is no private profiteering on this”.
“For making India a developed nation during the next 25 years, we’re making sure that our policies reach each and every citizen of the nation,” Sitharaman said in the message.
India is working with multilateral forums, including the UN and the G20, to create collaborations that would certify, register, test and benchmark Indian digital public infrastructure (DPIs) and public goods (DPGs).
The success of some of the government’s popular DPI programmes like CoWin, UPI, Digilocker and Diksha (national digital infrastructure for teachers) has prompted New Delhi to seek its own rating and testing mechanism for DPIs and DPGs, the people mentioned above said.
At present, an agency called the Digital Public Goods Alliance is the only multilateral organization that provides guidance, and benchmarks, rates, and judges DPIs. The UN-endorsed initiative facilitates the deployment and discovery of open-source technologies. The government’s plan to form a certification, testing and registration process for DPIs and DPGs will not only allow India to cater to local DPIs and DPGs but also for such platforms developed elsewhere.
As things stand, DPIs and DPGs developed by India have been deployed in other countries too. For instance, CoWin (for tracking Covid-19 vaccination) has been deployed in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Jamaica.
The export of payment platform UPI has also grown significantly, with the international arm of NPCI partnering with countries such as the UK, the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bhutan and Nepal.
The move will help India export some of its DPIs and DPGs to other countries with relative ease, the second person said, who too requested anonymity.
UPI has over 350 banks on its network with over 260 million unique users, while CoWin has more than 1.1 billion registered users. More than 500 million learning sessions have been conducted using the Diksha app, which was a key tool for teachers to impart education during the pandemic-induced lockdown period.
Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, was arrested in Lahore on Saturday after a court found him guilty of selling state gifts illegally and sentenced him to three years in prison…reports Asian Lite News
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urges the Pakistan government to “respect due process” in the case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and calls on all parties to avoid violence, his spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday.
Haq said: “The Secretary General urges the authorities to respect due process and the rule of law in the proceedings brought against the former prime minister”.
Guterres has “taken note of the ongoing protests that have erupted on the rest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, and he calls for all parties to refrain from violence”, Haq said.
“He stresses the need to respect the right to peaceful assembly,” the spokesperson added.
Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, was arrested in Lahore on Saturday after a court found him guilty of selling state gifts illegally and sentenced him to three years in prison.
Khan’s conviction bars him from contesting the upcoming National Assembly election due within months. He and his party have called for peaceful protests but the response has been feeble and the expected mass demonstrations have not materialised so far unlike in May when he was arrested on corruption charges.
At that time, massive protests erupted in several places in Pakistan with death and injuries reported from clashes between his supporters and security forces. He was released soon after on the orders of the Supreme Court only to be rearrested after his conviction in a different case.
The multi-millionaire former cricket star was transferred to a prison in Attock, 80 kilometres from the capital Islamabad, where his party says he is treated as a common “C-Class” prisoner with few amenities in a cramped cell.
Khan was Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022 when he was ousted by a non-confidence motion and was succeeded by Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, who heads the Pakistan Democracy Movement coalition.
Pakistan Assembly’s term ends next Saturday but there is uncertainty about when the nation would go to the polls. According to media reports, Sharif may dissolve the National Assembly before Saturday and hand over power to a caretaker government. That would allow a 90-interval for the elections instead of the 60 days if the Assembly ran its course till the five-year term’s end.
But Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, according to TV, has raised the possibility of even more delays because a new census would be taken and constituencies written on that basis.
Every one of the seven countries where people faced famine-like conditions last year was affected by armed conflict or extreme levels of violence…reports Asian Lite News
A UN official on Thursday called for a reinvigorated multilateral system for peace in order to address the root causes of hunger.
A quarter billion people suffered from acute food insecurity last year, the highest number recorded in recent years. Of these people, some 376,000 were facing famine-like conditions in seven countries. Another 35 million people were on the edge. As in all crisis situations, women and children are the most impacted, said UN Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator Reena Ghelani.
Hunger and conflict feed off of each other. Conflict and insecurity remain key drivers of hunger and famine, she told the Security Council in a briefing.
Every one of the seven countries where people faced famine-like conditions last year was affected by armed conflict or extreme levels of violence. Five of those seven countries — Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen — are regularly on the Security Council’s agenda, she said.
“Armed conflict destroys food systems, shatters livelihoods and drives people from their homes, leaving many extremely vulnerable and hungry. Sometimes these impacts are by-products of war. But all too often they are inflicted deliberately and unlawfully — with hunger utilized as a tactic of war,” she said.
Food insecurity itself also fuels instability. Recent research highlighted by the World Food Programme has shown how food insecurity — when coupled with pre-existing grievances, desperation fueled by poverty and inequality, and governance issues — cause people to choose violence over peace, she said.
Conflict-induced hunger is compounded by a toxic mix of climate change and economic shocks, said Ghelani.
Climate change is increasingly becoming a threat multiplier. As the stress on water and other natural resources leads to increased competition and displacement, conflicts and hunger spread. Of the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate-related risks, seven are affected by conflict, six host a UN peacekeeping or special political mission, and four have more than a million people one step away from famine.
At the same time, insecurity in conflict-affected countries hinders climate adaptation efforts. This leaves already vulnerable communities even poorer, hungrier and less resilient, she said.
The UN official called for more efforts to prevent, reduce and end conflict in all its forms.
“There needs to be a renewed commitment to peace through a reinvigorated multilateral system where governments, the United Nations and regional organizations work hand in hand,” she said.
As immediate steps, she called for action in five areas. One, ensuring parties to conflicts respect international humanitarian law. This includes protecting objects necessary for survival, such as food stocks, water systems, and other objects necessary for food production and distribution systems.
It also includes facilitating unimpeded humanitarian access to all civilians in need and protecting humanitarian staff and assets. States must spare no effort in exerting their influence to ensure parties respect the rules of war.
Two, making better use of existing early-warning mechanisms in a focused and effective manner and following up with concerted action. Three, being bold and creative in finding ways to mitigate the impact of war on the most vulnerable. Four, putting women and girls at the center of efforts. Crises and hunger affect them disproportionately, and they also hold the key to lasting solutions.
Five, acknowledging that a halfway, fragmented response to the interconnected risks will not work. There is a need for adequate humanitarian funding, and for efforts to address the climate and economic crises.
The main roadblock to adopting the convention proposed by India in 1996 is the dispute over the definition of terrorists…writes Arul Louis
A UN counter-terrorism official has decried the failure of the General Assembly to agree on a global agreement to fight terrorism proposed by India.
Raffi Gregorian, the Director of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), told the Security Council on Monday, “Unfortunately, there has not yet been consensus at the General Assembly on the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, including in relation to how the definition of terrorism would precisely apply in situations of armed conflict.”
Neither does the Assembly give the UNOCT “the mandate to investigate or ascertain the conduct of states and other actors, nor to determine what constitutes an act of terrorism, whether by a state, a group or an individual,” he added.
This despite the Assembly setting up the UNOCT “with the clear intention of helping member states implement General Assembly and Security Council resolutions related to the fight against terrorism,” he said.
The main roadblock to adopting the convention proposed by India in 1996 is the dispute over the definition of terrorists, with some countries claiming that their favoured terrorists are “freedom fighters”.
Speaking at a Council meeting convened at the request of Russia on threats to international peace and security, Gregorian pointed out these two barriers to the UN effectively dealing with terrorism.
“For these reasons, I regret that I have nothing else to contribute to the substance of today’s discussion,” he said.
However, while criticising the Assembly and praising the Council’s “admirable record”, Gregorian was silent on the Council’s failure to act against some terrorists because of China’s opposition.
In the latest case of Beijing providing cover for Pakistan-based terrorists, China blocked in June designating Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Sajid Mir as an international terrorist.
Mir was one of the leaders behind the 26/11 attack on Mumbai launched from Pakistan in 2008.
On the other hand, Gregorian claimed that the “Council has had a long and admirable record of consensus when it comes to the issue of terrorism”.
To back his assertion, he referred to the Council resolutions on al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror organisation also known as Da’esh, and the setting up of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.
In June, the Assembly urged its 193 members in a resolution “to make every effort to conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism”.
However, there has been no fresh effort toward adopting the agreement.
The Council meeting generally focused on the Ukraine war, with only mentions of the global terrorism menace by representatives of countries like Ghana and Mozambique.
Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy said that Moscow asked for the Council meeting to discuss “the terrorist essence of the Ukraine regime”.
He asserted that Ukraine bombing the bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland and using the Crimean people as “hostages” for negotiations amounted to terrorism.
Only China backed Russia, while most members of the Council heavily criticised Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
US Deputy Political Counsellor, Trina Saha, said that Moscow asking for the meeting was an effort “to divert the council’s attention from the core issues at hand or a transparent ploy to distract from its own aggression”.
“Russia’s complaints about the impacts of a war it began should remind us all of a simple truth,” she said.
“This war would end today if Russia withdrew its forces from Ukraine’s sovereign territory and abandoned its relentless, brutal attacks against Ukraine cities and civilian infrastructure,” she added.
Britain’s Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley said that it was Russia that “is inflicting terror on the Ukrainian people, and in parallel, it is inflicting suffering on its own population, and millions across the world”.
“Climate change is here,” he said as the message was brought home to the UN headquarters by New York declaring an extreme heat advisory for the city…reports Arul Louis
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appealed to G20 leaders who will meet at a summit in New Delhi to act urgently on climate change because its outcome will impact further efforts.
Calling the September summit headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “critical opportunity”, he said: “Particularly G20 countries — responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions – must step up for climate action and climate justice.”
The success of the UN climate change meeting known as the Conference of Parties (COP) in December in Dubai will depend on the outcome of the G20 meeting, he said while speaking to reporters.
“The G20’s success is a basic precondition for the success of the COP, because nobody else can compensate if those members of the G20 do not seriously engage in a dramatic reduction of that emissions,” he said.
While smaller developing countries like the small island countries are trying to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, “They are not the problem; the problem are developed countries and the emerging economies that meet in the G20”, he said.
“Climate change is here,” he said as the message was brought home to the UN headquarters by New York declaring an extreme heat advisory for the city.
“Extreme weather is becoming the new normal,” he warned.
“All countries must respond and protect their people from the searing heat, fatal floods, storms, droughts, and raging fires that result,” he said.
“We must turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition” to fight climate change.
India suffered through an extreme heat wave in the past three months with parts of the country hitting 47 degrees Celsius.
While he attributed 80 per cent of the greenhouse emissions collectively to the G20 nations, Guterres also spoke of the differences among countries, which would apply to countries in the group.
“Those countries on the frontlines — who have done the least to cause the crisis and have the least resources to deal with it — must have the support they need to do so,” he said.
“It is time for a global surge in adaptation investment to save millions of lives from climate carnage,” he added. He said that the developed countries should stand by their commitments to give $100 billion a year to help developing countries deal with climate change and noted that only Germany and Canada have contributed their share.
Guterres, who has launched a war on fossil fuels, called for ending financing of projects using them and said investments should be directed to renewable energy projects. “Many banks, investors and other financial actors continue to reward polluters and incentivise wrecking the planet,” he said.
The Al Qaeda core in Afghanistan remains stable at 30 to 60 members, while its fighters are estimated to be 400, reaching 2,000 with family members and supporters included…reports Asian Lite News
Terror group Al Qaeda is “shaping” its regional affiliate in the Indian subcontinent to spread its operations into Jammu and Kashmir, Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to a UN report.
The 32nd report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the 1267 Daesh and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, released this week, noted that “one Member State assessed that Al-Qaida is shaping AQIS (Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent) to spread its operations into neighbouring Bangladesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Myanmar”.
“That Member State also noted that certain limited elements of AQIS are ready to either join or collaborate with ISIL-K (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant- Khorasan),” it said.
The Al Qaeda core in Afghanistan remains stable at 30 to 60 members, while its fighters are estimated to be 400, reaching 2,000 with family members and supporters included, in the country.
In the Indian Subcontinent, the Al Qaeda has approximately 200 fighters, with Osama Mehmood being the emir.
Some member states assessed Sayf al-Adl as most likely to succeed Aiman al-Zawahiri as Al Qaeda chief and is reportedly still in Iran, the report said.
The member state assessed ISIL-K as the most serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan and the wider region, benefiting from increased operational capabilities inside Afghanistan.
ISIL-K is estimated to have 4,000 to 6,000 members, including family members.
Sanaullah Ghafari is viewed as the most ambitious leader of ISIL-K and while one member state reported that Ghafari was killed in Afghanistan in June, the report noted that this remains to be confirmed.
“ISIL-K is becoming more sophisticated in its attacks against both the Taliban and international targets. The group was focused on carrying out a strategy of high-profile attacks to undermine the Taliban’s ability to provide security,” it said.
“Overall, ISIL-K attacks demonstrated strong operational capability involving reconnoitre, coordination, communication, planning and execution. Furthermore, attacks against high-profile Taliban figures in Balkh, Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces raised ISIL-K morale and boosted recruitment,” the report said.
The report further said that Afghanistan remained a place of global significance for terrorism, with approximately 20 terrorist groups operating in the country. One member state assessed that the goal of those terrorist groups is to spread their respective influence across the regions and to build theocratic quasi-state entities.
“The relationship between the Taliban and Al-Qaida remains close and symbiotic. For the most part, Al-Qaida operates covertly in Afghanistan to help promote the narrative that the Taliban comply with agreements not to use Afghan soil for terrorist purposes,” the report said.
“Under the patronage of high-ranking officials of the de-facto Taliban authorities, Al-Qaida members infiltrate law enforcement agencies and public administration bodies, ensuring the security of Al-Qaida cells dispersed throughout the country,” it said.
Noting that Al Qaeda’s capability to conduct large-scale terror attacks remains reduced while its intent remains firm, it said, “The group uses Afghanistan as an ideological and logistical hub to mobilise and recruit new fighters while covertly rebuilding its external operations capability”.
It noted that Al Qaeda is in a “reorganisation” phase, establishing new training centres in Kunar and Nuristan provinces. Member states assessed that the terror group would likely remain dormant in the short term while developing its operational capability and outreach.
Al Qaeda leaders are seeking to strengthen cooperation with regional terrorist groups of non-Afghan origin located in Afghanistan, including the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, ETIM/TIP (The East Turkestan Islamic Movement/ Turkestan Islamic Party) and Jamaat Ansarullah, intending to infiltrate and establish strongholds in countries in Central Asia.
“One Member State assessed that the mid-to-long-term prospects of Al-Qaida depend on the overall situation in Afghanistan. Should Afghanistan descend into chaos and insecurity, the base for Al-Qaida would likely strengthen. Should the country achieve stability, Al-Qaida would likely seek to shift the core to other theatres, such as Yemen or North Africa,” it said.
According to the report, the member states expressed concern that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) could become a regional threat if it continues to have a safe operating base in Afghanistan.
Some member states also registered concern that the TTP might provide an umbrella under which a range of foreign groups operate or even coalesce, avoiding attempts at control by the Taliban.
“One Member State noted the possibility of AQIS and TTP merging. It assessed AQIS to be providing guidance to TTP for conducting increased attacks within Pakistan. It was also reported that ETIM/TIP training camps in Kunar Province were being used for TTP fighters.”
