The United Nations Sanctions Monitoring Team has released a new report listing 61 Taliban officials who are subject to international sanctions.
According to the report, 35 of these 61 individuals are members of the Taliban cabinet and senior officials.
The list, published on the UN Security Council's website on Monday, includes names such as Mullah Hassan, the Prime Minister; Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs; Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs; and Abdul Kabir, the Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs.
Key Taliban cabinet figures such as Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Interior Minister, are also included in the list. Recently, Haqqani was able to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage and to the UAE for a security conference under a temporary UN Security Council exemption.
Other sanctioned officials include Abdul Haq Wasiq, the powerful Intelligence Chief; Noor Mohammad Saqib, the Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs; Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Minister of Information and Culture; Noorullah Noori, the Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs; and Hamidullah Akhund, the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation.
Additionally, ministers such as Din Mohammad Hanif (Economy), Mohammad Esa Thani (Public Works), Najibullah Haqqani (Telecommunications and Information Technology), Hamdullah Nomani (Urban Development and Housing), Abdul Latif Mansur (Energy and Water), Hidayatullah Badri (Mines and Petroleum), and Noor Ahmad Agha, the governor of the Central Bank, are also under UN sanctions.
These individuals are prohibited from traveling outside Afghanistan without Security Council approval, and their assets abroad are frozen.
The UN Sanctions Monitoring Team's mandate was unanimously extended for another year in December 2022 by the 15-member Security Council.
The US ambassador to the UN stated after the vote that the mission aims to ensure Taliban compliance with counter-terrorism measures and human rights, particularly women's rights. The Chinese ambassador highlighted the importance of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a hub for terrorist organisations.
Haqqani Network in Sanctions List
Several members of the Haqqani network also appear on the sanctions list. These include Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, the Minister of Refugees; Yahya Haqqani, brother of Siraj Haqqani; Wali Jan Hamza, the Kabul police chief; Rahmatullah Kakazada, the head of public information at the Interior Ministry; Mohammad Tahir Haqqani, a Haqqani network advisor; Shams-ur-Rahman, a senior advisor to the Interior Minister; and Mohammad Muslim Haqqani, an advisor to the Minister of Refugees.
Yahya Haqqani is also wanted by the US government for his involvement in terrorist activities. The US designated him as an internationally wanted terrorist in 2014, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Other Sanctioned Taliban Figures
The 61-person list includes other notable Taliban figures such as Nooruddin Turabi, the head of the Disaster Management Authority; Shahabuddin Delawar, the head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society; Mohammad Zahid, the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs; Qudratullah Jamal, the Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry; Jan Mohammad Madani, a financial advisor to Mullah Hibatullah; Sayed Ghayasuddin Agha and Abdul Wali Siddiqui, directors at the Administrative Affairs Office of the Prime Minister.
The list also includes several heads and deputies of independent agencies, such as Shamsuddin Shariati, the head of the Decrees and Orders Monitoring Authority; Ahmad Shahid Khaili, the Deputy Minister of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice; Ezatullah Haqqani, the Deputy Financial Inspector; Abdul Qadir Haqqani, the Deputy Minister of Finance; Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Deputy Foreign Minister; Saaduddin Saeed, the Deputy Minister of Information and Culture; Ismatullah Asim, the Deputy Mayor of Kabul; Abbas Akhund, the former head of the Disaster Management Authority; Abdul Samad Achakzai, the Helmand Corps Commander; Mohammad Aleem Noorani, the Third Secretary of the Taliban Embassy in Tehran; and Mohammad Rasul Ayub from the Kandahar Borders and Tribal Affairs Department.
Some officials from the Taliban's Ministries of Eduction and Higher Education are also included in the sanctions list. Mohammad Ibrahim Omari, Abdul Baqi Haqqani, and Fazlullah Rabi are higher education officials; Nik Mohammad, the Deputy Director of Vocational Training in Kabul; and Abdul Qodus Mazhari, a Kabul University professor, face global sanctions. They are accused of obstructing women's education.
The list also includes Haji Gul Mohammad, the Governor of Nangarhar, and Zia-ur-Rahman Madani, the Governor of Logar.
Several officials from the Taliban's Ministry of Defence are also sanctioned. These include Fazl Mazlum, the Deputy Defence Minister; Abdul Jabbar Omari and Abdul Rahman Agha, key department heads.
The list also features two prominent businessmen: Abdul Haseeb Alizai, accused of drug trafficking, and Faizullah Khan Noorzai, a businessman. Additionally, Malik Noorzai, the procurement officer for Kandahar province, is under sanctions.
The 26-page report, commissioned by member states, notes that the Sanctions Committee frequently receives requests to lift travel bans on Taliban officials.