Pakistan will take charge of the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) Taliban Sanctions Committee in 2025. The committee is responsible for enforcing sanctions including travel bans, asset freezes, and arms embargoes on individuals and entities linked to the Taliban that pose a threat to Afghanistan’s peace and security. Alongside this, Pakistan will also serve as a vice-chair of the UNSC’s Counter-Terrorism Committee.
Guyana and Russia are appointed as vice-chairs of the Taliban Sanctions Committee, while Denmark will chair the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. Algeria will lead the Counter-Terrorism Committee, with France, Pakistan, and Russia as vice-chairs.
Pakistan is currently a non-permanent member of the 15-member UNSC for the 2025–26 term. In addition to chairing the Taliban Sanctions Committee, Pakistan will co-chair the Informal Working Groups on Documentation and Procedural Questions, as well as on General UNSC Sanctions Issues.
India, which previously chaired the UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee in 2022 during its tenure, has repeatedly pointed out concerns about Pakistan hosting UN-designated terrorist groups. Notably, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was found and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011 during a US Navy SEALs operation.
The UNSC’s permanent members include China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US. The current non-permanent members alongside Pakistan are Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia.
Recently elected non-permanent UNSC members for the 2026–27 term are Bahrain, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Latvia, and Colombia.
