New York: The UN Security Council has split the international sanctions regime for the Taliban and al Qaeda to encourage the Taliban to join reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan.
The council unanimously passed two resolutions
yesterday which set up one new blacklist of individuals and
organisations accused of links to al Qaeda and a second for
those linked to the Taliban militia.
The two groups have until now been handled by the same
sanctions committee. But the international powers wanted to
separate them to highlight the divide between al Qaeda`s
global jihadist agenda and the Taliban`s focus on Afghanistan.
The new resolutions, 1988 and 1989, send "a clear
message to the Taliban that there is a future for those who
separate from al Qaeda, renounce violence and abide by the
Afghan constitution," said Susan Rice, UN envoy for the United
States, which led the campaign for the division.
Peter Wittig, Germany`s UN ambassador who heads the
Security Council anti-terrorism sanctions committee, said the
resolution sends "a strong signal of trust and support for the
peace and reconciliation efforts of the government of
Afghanistan."
US President Barack Obama has set July as the target
date to start cutting the 100,000 American troops in
Afghanistan and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this month there could be talks with the Taliban before the end of the year.
Bureau Report
