KABUL (PAN): With President Hamid Karzai planning a new peace effort at convincing rebels into renouncing violence, the United Nations Security Council has removed the names of five Taliban leaders from its blacklist.

The Security Council's al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee approved the de-listing of Wakeel Ahmed Mutawakil, Faiz Mohammad Faizan, Maulvi Abdul Hakim Monib, Shamsus Safa Aminzai and Muhammad Musa Hotak.

In the Taliban regime ousted in 2001, they respectively served as minister of foreign affairs, deputy minister of commerce, deputy minister of frontier affairs, in charge of press centre at the Foreign Ministry and deputy minister of planning.

Approved on January 25, the de-listings are a result of a review of the Consolidated List sought by the Security Council Resolution 1822 (2008). The assets freeze and travel ban imposed on the individuals under Resolution 1904 (2009) will no longer apply them.

Mutawakil hails from the Maiwand district of Kandahar province, Faiz Mohammad Faizan from the Khairkot district of Paktika, Hakim Monib from the Zurmat district of the same province and Muhammad Musa Hotak from the Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak.

A Kabul-based political analyst, who lauded the UNSC decision as a good beginning, believed the step had been taken to create an atmosphere of trust before the launch of the new peace initiative by the Karzai administration.

Muhammad Hasan Haqyar told Pajhwok Afghan News the Western world was more inclined to peace as a result of constant calls for reconciliation. However, he did not think that the move would influence the militants in rural Afghanistan.

On Friday, President Karzai unveiled his plan to woo moderate Taliban into returning to civilian life. "We know as the Afghan people we must have peace at any cost. Those that we approach to return will be provided with the abilities to work, to find jobs, to have protection, to resettle in their own communities."

The government would offer cash and resettlement facilities to the insurgents to switch sides, as part of the scheme -- funded by the global fraternity and backed by major world powers with the bulk of troops in the conflict-torn country.

Speaking to the BBC, the president predicted Washington and London would announce their backing of his initiative at next week's conference. Japan is one of the countries willing to fund the ambitious scheme.

He claimed the US, the UK and other countries had dropped their aversion to his administration's efforts at speeding up the national reconciliation effort. Karzai explained the Taliban with links to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups would not be accepted.

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