US backs Pakistan’s right to self-defence after UN votes on global counterterrorism strategy

WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS: The United States has reiterated its support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against terrorist attacks, while the United Nations struggles to maintain consensus on its core global counterterrorism framework.

“The Pakistani people have suffered greatly at the hands of terrorists,” the US State Department said, according to a statement reported by Reuters.

Washington “supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself against terrorist attacks” as an intermittent conflict between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan continues, the State Department added.

The remarks come after Pakistan on Sunday night acted against terrorist infrastructure along the Afghan border, in response to a terrorist attack on a local headquarter of the Pakistan Rangers Sindh in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area.

In February, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker had expressed similar support for Islamabad, saying Washington “continues to monitor the situation closely” and backs Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks.

The brief note by the US State Department comes amid the ninth review of the United Nations Global Counterterrorism Strategy (GCTS), a global framework adopted in 2006 and periodically reviewed to guide international cooperation against terrorism.

At the United Nations General Assembly, the US voted against the resolution and pushed for a recorded vote, breaking with the traditional consensus-based adoption of the strategy.

Despite US objections, the General Assembly adopted the ninth review of the GCTS by 140 votes, including Pakistan, in favour on July 1. It adopted the ninth review by a recorded vote after consensus could not be reached.

The US, Israel and Argentina voted against the resolution. Japan abstained but its delegate later stated that the abstention was the result of a technical error and his delegation intended to vote in favour.

Washington described the draft as “bloated, outdated, and lacking focus,” arguing that the 170-plus paragraph text diluted core counterterrorism priorities with excessive and non-operational language. It also said that the draft “ignores numerous US redlines and policy concerns”.

Israel said the draft was “outdated, long and repetitive, and does not embrace institutional modernisation”, while Argentina’s delegate said it voted against the text to draw attention to the importance of reviewing the strategy.

On the other hand, Pakistan, Egypt and Iran regretted that several proposals made by Islamic countries were not considered. Turkiye also regretted that the document did not include stronger condemnation of the repeated targeting of Muslims, including the desecration of mosques and the burning of the Holy Quran.

Pakistan says terrorism evolving threat

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said terrorism transcended national boundaries and manifested itself in an “increasingly interconnected yet decentralised organisational manner globally”.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on the GCTS, he said the strategy remained a “living document” that evolved with emerging threats.

He said Pakistan had consistently remained at the forefront of global counterterrorism efforts and played a key role in operations against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, while also suffering heavy human losses. He said more than 1,200 Pakistanis were killed in terrorist attacks in the past year alone.

He expressed disappointment that, despite its efforts, the ninth review process “failed” to address longstanding gaps in the strategy or incorporate concerns raised by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), whose member states include some of the countries most affected by terrorism.

He said a terrorism-free future required a comprehensive multilateral approach that addressed emerging physical and virtual threats, unresolved long-standing conflicts, respect for human rights and rule of law, and recognition of the right to self-determination under international law.

He also rejected any attempt to equate the “legitimate struggle for self-determination” with terrorism and called for stronger condemnation of state actions against populations under foreign occupation.

He also called for coordinated global action against xenophobia, racism, and all forms of intolerance, and urged stronger responses to violent far-right, neo-fascist, supremacist and xenophobic groups targeting vulnerable communities and places of worship.

The envoy urged reforms in the UN counterterrorism architecture and sanctions regime, saying existing mechanisms must be more transparent, fair and insulated from political influence.

He also called for stricter regulation of social media platforms to counter online radicalisation, recruitment, extremist propaganda and misinformation.

Ambassador Iftikhar stressed the need to regulate digital financial systems, virtual assets and cryptocurrencies to prevent their misuse by terrorist networks. He said that intergovernmental bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force should remain impartial, transparent and free from political use by any state.

Pakistan noted that despite the flexibility shown by Pakistan and the OIC, the process failed to produce meaningful improvements even after three years of negotiations.

Ambassador Asim described the lack of agreement as a “wake-up call,” saying the impasse underscored the need for renewed global cooperation and coordinated action against terrorism. ...