Former Pakistani foreign minister links global disorder to the aftermath of 9/11
Former Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, in a column for Dawn, linked today’s instability in the world to the consequences of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. In his view, these events changed global security priorities, strengthened the role of military force in international relations, and weakened the multilateral approach.
The author recalled that on that day, two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York, another hit the Pentagon building, and a fourth was shot down in Pennsylvania. Following the attacks, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1373 on September 28, 2001, obliging states to prevent, suppress, and criminalize the financing of terrorism. Later, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1540 on preventing non-state actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
Afghanistan and Iraq
Chaudhry noted that after the attacks, the United States and NATO countries launched a military campaign against Afghanistan, which was then ruled by the Taliban and, according to him, provided shelter to Al-Qaeda. He called this war the longest for the United States since the end of World War II and believes that Washington failed to succeed in the war against the Taliban.
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The author also criticized the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in August 2021. In his assessment, the United States left behind significant stockpiles of weapons and ammunition that were later used for terrorist attacks, including by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Balochistan Liberation Army. He also claims that Afghanistan has once again become a haven for global terrorists.
Chaudhry called the US invasion of Iraq over suspicions of weapons of mass destruction a dangerous precedent of preemptive use of force without authorization from the UN Security Council. As examples of the subsequent use of this approach, he mentioned the invasions of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, an aggressor state, in 2014 and 2022, as well as India’s actions against Pakistan in 2016, 2019, and 2025, which he described as aggression.
Assessment of the international order
The former diplomat believes that after September 11, the line between the struggle for self-determination and terrorism became less clear. In his opinion, Western states used the concept of the “responsibility to protect” to intervene in Arab countries, contributing to the destabilization of the Middle East. Chaudhry also writes that globalization became one of the first victims of these events, while international law and multilateralism were weakened.
