ISLAMABAD: The Afghan government renewed on Monday its request to lift sanctions, including travel ban of more than a dozen Taliban leaders, saying that these restrictions do not benefit either side.
Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, over $9 billion Afghanistan property was stopped by the US and European countries and restrictions were placed on bank system of a world ravaged by war.
“The imposition of coercive policies and sanctions by other countries has affected our people,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, the Taliban’s deputy finance minister.
The Taliban’s spokesman in Doha, Sohail Shaheen, however, said that their country is in financial crisis due to sanctions and lack of international recognition. The Taliban, according to him, inherited a weak economy and a very poor country in Afghanistan when they seized power in Kabul in August 2021. “The poverty we are facing today was inherited from the last 20 years when foreign troops were present in Afghanistan,” he said in a press conference.
Shaheen said that while the “ruler” had spent billions of dollars on the country, “those dollars went into the pockets of the fighters. The common people continued to be poor.” This worsened, he said, when he imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan after the Taliban took power.
The Taliban’s spokesman in Kabul, Zabihullah Mujahid, called for the lifting of the ban on some of their leaders to help advance the talks. “About 14 to 15 adults have problems walking. It (restriction of movement) was there before but it has been extended. This does not benefit any side because the leaders’ visits are important to the world and the development of Afghanistan,” he said.
A total of 135 Taliban officials have been given sanctions, including suspension of goods and travel restrictions, according to a 2011 Security Council resolution. Last year, a brief exemption from the travel ban was granted to 13 Taliban leaders, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, that allow them to meet with officials from other countries, including the United States. The UN Security Council, however, overturned the resolution in August 2022 after criticism from Western countries, citing the failure of the Taliban to follow through on their commitments to respect the human rights of all Afghans, including women, form a coalition government, and combat terrorism.
Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, over $9 billion Afghanistan property was stopped by the US and European countries and restrictions were placed on bank system of a world ravaged by war.
“The imposition of coercive policies and sanctions by other countries has affected our people,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, the Taliban’s deputy finance minister.
The Taliban’s spokesman in Doha, Sohail Shaheen, however, said that their country is in financial crisis due to sanctions and lack of international recognition. The Taliban, according to him, inherited a weak economy and a very poor country in Afghanistan when they seized power in Kabul in August 2021. “The poverty we are facing today was inherited from the last 20 years when foreign troops were present in Afghanistan,” he said in a press conference.
Shaheen said that while the “ruler” had spent billions of dollars on the country, “those dollars went into the pockets of the fighters. The common people continued to be poor.” This worsened, he said, when he imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan after the Taliban took power.
The Taliban’s spokesman in Kabul, Zabihullah Mujahid, called for the lifting of the ban on some of their leaders to help advance the talks. “About 14 to 15 adults have problems walking. It (restriction of movement) was there before but it has been extended. This does not benefit any side because the leaders’ visits are important to the world and the development of Afghanistan,” he said.
A total of 135 Taliban officials have been given sanctions, including suspension of goods and travel restrictions, according to a 2011 Security Council resolution. Last year, a brief exemption from the travel ban was granted to 13 Taliban leaders, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, that allow them to meet with officials from other countries, including the United States. The UN Security Council, however, overturned the resolution in August 2022 after criticism from Western countries, citing the failure of the Taliban to follow through on their commitments to respect the human rights of all Afghans, including women, form a coalition government, and combat terrorism.