The UN Security Council’s sanctions committee has updated its list of Taliban leaders and officials facing international sanctions.
The revised list confirms that several senior members of the Taliban government remain subject to travel bans, asset freezes and arms embargoes.
The UN Security Council sanctions committee updated its list of sanctioned Taliban officials on March 10, reaffirming restrictions on multiple members of the group’s leadership.
According to the revised list, 22 Taliban officials remain under sanctions, which include travel bans, asset freezes and an arms embargo imposed by the Security Council.
The sanctions apply to individuals associated with activities that threaten peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Key Taliban leaders included in list
Among the individuals named in the updated sanctions list are several top officials in the Taliban administration. These include Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar, and Administrative Deputy Abdul Salam Hanafi.
Other sanctioned figures include Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Minister for Refugees and Repatriation Abdul Kabir.
Additional ministers, officials under sanctions
The updated list also includes a number of ministers and senior officials across the Taliban government.
These individuals include Agriculture Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Fazl Mohammad Mazloom, and former Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani.
Also listed are Economy Minister Din Mohammad Hanif, Qudratullah Jamal, who serves as deputy minister for tourism at the Ministry of Information and Culture, and Nooruddin Turabi, head of the Natural Disaster Management Authority.
Further names include Public Works Minister Mohammad Essa Akhund, Urban Development Minister Najibullah Haqqani, and Hajj and Religious Affairs Minister Noor Mohammad Saqib.
The sanctions list also covers Intelligence Chief Abdul Haq Wassiq and Khairullah Khairkhwa, the governor of Maidan Wardak province.
Other individuals facing sanctions
In addition to government officials, several other Taliban-linked individuals are also under UN sanctions. These include Hamidullah Akhund, Aziz-Ur-Rahman, Gul Agha Ishaqzai, Malik Noorzai, and Ahmad Zia Agha.
The sanctions committee maintains these listings under UN Security Council Resolution 1988, which focuses specifically on Taliban-related sanctions.
UK also revises sanctions list
The United Kingdom government has also sanctioned many of the same Taliban officials. A day after the UN updated its sanctions list, Britain revised its own sanctions register and removed the Pakistani passport details associated with some Taliban figures.
However, the sanctions themselves remain in place.
One notable absence from the updated UN sanctions list is Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader. The reason for his exclusion from the list has not been clarified by the United Nations.
Restrictions on travel, international activity
Under the UN sanctions regime, individuals listed by the committee cannot travel to UN member states without explicit permission from the Security Council.
The sanctions apply to individuals accused of involvement in violence, providing weapons, recruiting fighters or supporting activities that undermine stability in Afghanistan.
On March 14, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to extend the mandate of the Taliban sanctions monitoring team for another year.
The draft resolution was prepared by the United States and received unanimous support from council members.
Taliban continue to demand removal of sanctions
During more than four years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the group has repeatedly called for the sanctions to be lifted.
However, the continued presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, discrimination against women, and the absence of an inclusive political government have led the UN Security Council to maintain the sanctions regime.
