“US NSA Was Close To Resigning Due To Chaotic Withdrawal From Afghanistan”

Islamabad was elected to replace Japan as one of the representatives of the Asia-Pacific region on the Security Council in June last year and officially began its work on January 1 this year.

On Wednesday, January 2, the United Nations Security Council raised the flags of Pakistan, Denmark, Greece, Somalia, and Panama as non-permanent members of the Council.

The ceremony was attended by Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, Additional Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported that this is the eighth time that Pakistan has gained membership in the council.

The newspaper also wrote that by becoming a member of the Security Council, Pakistan will also gain a seat on the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, which is responsible for identifying individuals and groups associated with IS and Al-Qaeda as terrorists and imposing sanctions on them.

"This will be a valuable opportunity for Pakistan to highlight cross-border terrorist attacks from Afghanistan by groups linked to the Islamic State militant group and al-Qaeda," the Dawn newspaper wrote.

Pakistan will have more influence in setting the agenda and presenting proposals by becoming a member of the UN Security Council. It is likely that Pakistan will use this position to highlight the threat of terrorism from Afghan soil against Pakistan, especially the threat of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and to illegitimately portray India's sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir.

Islamabad may also try to exert pressure on the Afghan Taliban from this area.

Pakistan's two-year term as a member of the United Nations Security Council ends on December 31, 2026.

The organisation wrote that the number of executions in Iran in December increased by 9.5 percent compared to the previous month.

The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation reported on Thursday, January 2, that the Islamic Republic's judiciary has executed at least 28 Kurdish prisoners, 22 Baluch prisoners, 15 Turkish prisoners, 12 Lur prisoners, and six Gilak prisoners in December 2024.

The organisation said that this month, six women were executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran's judiciary in prisons in Isfahan, Zanjan, Yazd, and Sari.
In a separate report, Iran Human Rights also reported that the Islamic Republic executed five prisoners, including three Afghans, in Bandar Abbas Central Prison on Wednesday, January 1.

The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation, which operates outside Iran, said that of a total of 138 executions this month, three were announced by official sources of the Islamic Republic. The organisation noted that six of these prisoners were executed in secret without the knowledge of their families and the right to a last visit with their families.

Hengaw added that 75 prisoners were executed on drug-related charges, 61 for murder, and 10 for armed robbery.

The human rights organisation Hengaw has previously announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed at least 74 Afghan prisoners in 2024.

The Islamic Republic has continued to carry out executions despite the objections of international organisations. Human rights organisations operating outside Iran have acknowledged that the Islamic Republic has increased the execution of Afghan prisoners after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Defence Minister had said that the Taliban had demanded 10 billion rupees to remove TTP fighters from the border areas.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said on Thursday in response to the claim, "It is regrettable that high-ranking Pakistani officials are making such false statements."

Earlier, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif had claimed that during his visit to Afghanistan in 2022, Taliban’s Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid had demanded 10 billion Pakistani rupees to move the TTP from areas near the Durand Line to western Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly asked the Taliban to not allow Pakistani militants to operate in border areas and attack Pakistani security forces.

Pakistan has always accused the Afghan Taliban of supporting armed groups opposed to its government, especially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

In recent months, there have been reports that the Taliban is planning to move TTP members to northern Afghanistan.

The organisation said that the Islamic Republic's judiciary had previously sentenced the prisoners to death on drug-related charges.

The Iranian Human Rights Organisation wrote in a statement that authorities at Bandar Abbas Central Prison carried out the death sentences of these prisoners on Wednesday morning, January 1. The organisation identified one of the executed prisoners as Ramzi Yigsavar, 25, from the Baburiyan tribe of Afghanistan.

The Iranian Human Rights Organisation has identified the two executed Iranian prisoners as Hedayat Ghasemi and Shahrokh Sabahpour. The organisation said that the identities of the other two Afghan prisoners who were executed are still unknown.

Earlier, the Iranian Human Rights Organisation announced on Monday, the execution of an Afghan prisoner named Jalal Stanikzai in Aligudarz prison in Lorestan. The organisation wrote that Jalal Stanikzai had been arrested four years ago on charges of premeditated murder and sentenced to death.

The Islamic Republic has continued to carry out this sentence, despite opposition from international organisations to the execution of the defendants.

According to the Human Rights Organisation Hengaw, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed at least 74 Afghan prisoners in 2024.

He added that these contacts continued since the war in Panjshir until the suicide attack on Haqqani's life.

However, he emphasised that Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front, had no direct contact with Khalil Haqqani.

Manawi said in an interview with Afghanistan International on Wednesday that Khalil Haqqani was not a supporter of war and that they received repeated calls from him when the war was underway in Panjshir.

He clarified that Haqqani's efforts to prevent war and stand his ground continued until the last moment.

Earlier, Michael Semple, former deputy EU envoy for Afghanistan, had said in an interview with Afghanistan International that Haqqani was assassinated because of covert internal and external connections. He said that the Taliban leader was suspicious of Haqqani's contacts. Semple had described Haqqani's assassination as a result of internal Taliban conflicts.

Fazl Ahmadi Manawi, a senior member of the National Resistance Front, also attributes the assassination of Khalil Haqqani to internal Taliban disputes.

Khalil Haqqani was killed last month in a suicide attack at the headquarters of the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees in Kabul.

Manawi mentioned the increasing dissatisfaction within the Taliban ranks, saying that the Kandahar group had monopolised power, and this had caused dissatisfaction among other factions within the group.

Manawi predicted that with the coming to power of the new US government, aid to the Taliban will be cut off and they will not be able to finance the huge expenses of their jihadi schools and security institutions through taxes and underground resources.

Manawi stated that the coming year will not be a good year for the Taliban, predicting that signs of the Taliban's collapse will become more visible in 2025. This member of the National Resistance Front stated that in a meeting with representatives of regional countries, they realised that these countries were also disappointed with the Taliban.