The potential lifting of UN sanctions on the Taliban will be a positive step only if the movement permanently abandons violence, Afghan Ambassador to Russia Dr. Mohammad Latif Bahand told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2020) The potential lifting of UN sanctions on the Taliban will be a positive step only if the movement permanently abandons violence, Afghan Ambassador to Russia Dr. Mohammad Latif Bahand told Sputnik in an interview.
In a March 10 resolution endorsing the US-Taliban peace deal, the UN Security Council expressed its readiness to review the sanctions list, compiled under Resolution 1988 and including entities and individuals linked to the Taliban, as soon as intra-Afghan talks start. It warned that the review would depend on "Taliban action, or the lack thereof" to further reduce violence and promote intra-Afghan efforts.
"Sanctions or designations are lifted on anyone - a Taliban member or a Mujahid ... - after making sure that they do not repeat what [led to the imposition of sanctions or blacklisting]," Bahand said, adding that if punished activities started again, sanctions should be reimposed.
According to the ambassador, the Taliban carried out attacks across 16 provinces immediately after the deal was signed, and that if this trend persisted the sanctions relief "will not lead to anything good."
The US and the Taliban signed a long-awaited peace deal in late February. Under the accord, the US conditionally pledges to reduce its presence in Afghanistan from the 12,000 troops to 8,600 within 135 days, with the full pullout expected within 14 months. The Taliban, in return, pledge to provide guarantees that the country will not become a haven for terrorist groups.
In addition, the deal provides for intra-Afghan talks. Their start, scheduled for March 10, has been thwarted due to Kabul-Taliban differences over prisoner release.
