SCO RATS Warning Validates Pakistan’s Warnings on Afghan Terror Networks

Tashkent — A new regional security assessment delivered at the 11th International Conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO RATS) has reinforced Pakistan’s long-running warnings about the intensifying threat of terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil. The two-day conference, held on 20–21 November in Tashkent, brought together delegations from SCO member states as well as representatives from the United Nations (UN), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Anti-Terrorism Centre, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

During the meeting, SCO RATS Executive Director Olarbek Sharshiyev issued a stark warning that international terrorist groups have strengthened their presence in Afghanistan and Syria, and are now actively attempting to establish “sleeper cells” across Central Asia. He highlighted increased militant mobility through forged documents, expanding cross-border networks, aggressive recruitment campaigns, and the rapid rise of online radicalization. Sharshiyev also supported a proposal to establish a Global Anti-Terror Centre in Tashkent to coordinate regional responses to escalating threats.

Regional Assessment Mirrors Pakistan’s Long-Standing Warnings

Security analysts note that the SCO RATS findings align closely with Pakistan’s consistent assessment that Afghanistan has become the primary base for international terrorist groups threatening regional stability. The warning about sleeper cells forming from Afghan territory echoes Pakistan’s repeated alerts about Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Al-Qaeda, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) operating freely under the Taliban’s permissive environment.

The SCO’s findings on militants using forged travel documents through third countries also mirror Pakistan’s intelligence reporting, which has tracked Afghan-based infiltration networks entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan through coordinated tashkeels and cross-border movement.

For years, Pakistan has urged Kabul and regional partners to recognize that Afghan soil is being used for militant movement, financing, recruitment, and operational planning. With SCO RATS now publicly acknowledging these trends, Islamabad’s position is internationally validated.

Global Consensus on Threat Emanating From Afghanistan

Representatives from major global and regional security bodies, including the UN, OSCE, INTERPOL, CIS Anti-Terrorism Centre, and CSTO, echoed the alarm over rising terrorist activity linked to Afghan sanctuaries. Their views collectively reinforce Islamabad’s stance that cross-border terrorism from Afghanistan is not an allegation but an internationally recognized reality.

Sharshiyev’s briefing also underscored the Taliban’s failure to uphold their Doha Agreement pledge to prevent Afghan territory from being used against other states, particularly Pakistan, the country most directly affected by these security lapses.

Evidence of Expanding Terror Infrastructure

Pakistan has already shared coordinates of over 60 TTP camps operating across Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Kunar, Uruzgan, and Zabul. The SCO assessment, highlighting expanding militant consolidation, further exposes Kabul’s continued inaction.

Recent infiltration figures, including 172 tashkeels and nearly 4,000 militants entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 83 tashkeels entering Balochistan, align with SCO RATS’ warnings about wider regional militant movement.

The SCO also noted rising recruitment among Central Asians, matching Pakistan’s data on Afghan nationals increasingly involved in terror attacks inside Pakistan. Since 2024, nearly a dozen Afghan suicide bombers and 267 Afghan militants have been killed in counter-terrorism operations inside Pakistan.

Also see: Pakistan–Afghanistan Tensions: Competing Claims, Mounting Public Pressure, and Turkey’s Quiet Mediation Efforts

Modernized Terror Tactics

The conference highlighted that groups operating from Afghan sanctuaries are now turning to cryptocurrency, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated propaganda to radicalize youth across the region. Pakistani security agencies have previously raised similar alarms, noting a major shift in terrorist organizations’ recruitment tools and technologies.

The latest SCO RATS evaluation aligns closely with the 36th United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Report, which describes the Taliban’s continued sheltering of Al-Qaeda, TTP, and ETIM, contradicting their public statements and confirming Pakistan’s long-standing concerns about state-enabled militant safe havens.

The SCO RATS warning marks a significant moment of regional and international consensus, validating Pakistan’s sustained efforts to highlight the evolving threat of Afghan-based terrorism. As major global security bodies converge on the same assessment, pressure is likely to mount on the Taliban regime to dismantle terrorist networks that continue to endanger Pakistan and the broader region.