UN mulls splitting Taliban, Al Qaeda blacklist

Creation of separate blacklists for Al Qaeda and Taliban was being considered, Peter Wittig, chairman of the UN sanctions committee, told a news conference in the Afghan capital Kabul.

Also Germany’s permanent representative to the United Nations, he said a formal decision on whether or not to divide the blacklist — featuring around 140 Taliban-linked individuals — would be taken in a week or two.

The move will boost President Hamid Karzai’s efforts at reconciliation with the Afghan Taliban who are ready to shun the insurgency, recognise the constitution and cut links with the Al Qaeda network. 

Witting said the decision would underscore the significance of the political process that was currently underway in Afghanistan. He said there were ties between the two groups, “but they don’t justify putting them in the same basket”.

The US and Britain have reportedly lent their weight to efforts at convincing the UN Security Council to remove the sanctions month to pave the ground for the Taliban’s reintegration into society. 

The Guardian newspaper reported this week that lifting the curbs would help the Taliban set up a political office in a third country, because key intermediaries would finally be allowed to travel.

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