The George Bush Institute, in a report referring to the Taliban's ties with terrorist groups and continued violation of women's rights, has urged the United States and the international community to officially designate the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.
The institute stated that designating the Taliban as a foreign terrorist group would limit the group's ability to attract certain support and financial resources.
The request was made by citing reasons such as the Taliban’s relationships with several terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, both of which are considered as foreign terrorist organisation.
According to the report, the Taliban not only lacks the ability to prevent terrorism, but also continues to violate the rights of women and children, engaging in "criminal and corrupt activities" to consolidate its governance.
It emphasised that if a foreign organisation threatens US national security through premeditated violence with political motivations, it can be listed as "foreign terrorist organisations" under the country’s laws.
According to the report, listing the Taliban in this category would weaken any international efforts to legitimise the Taliban, halt support to the group, and restrict travel for its leaders. Furthermore, this would also deprive the Taliban of access to financial institutions.
Moreover, by designating the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organisation, countries would be obliged to recognise individuals associated with the group as terrorists and impose economic sanctions and visa restrictions against them.
The report states that it would also compel financial institutions to establish a specific mechanism for identifying individuals closely affiliated with the group to prevent the Taliban from accessing support and financial resources.
The report stated that the criminal activities of the Taliban and the suppression of vulnerable communities throughout Afghanistan have consistently been condemned by the international community, but these condemnations have not held the Taliban meaningfully accountable for human rights violations.
As per the report, the Taliban has bypassed existing accountability mechanisms through corruption and kleptocracy.
According to the George Bush Institute, "opportunistic" countries overlook the Taliban's exploitation of the government and view Afghanistan under the control of the group as a means to achieve their geopolitical goals.
This institute recommended that the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the US Departments of State, Defence, and Treasury should harmonise information-sharing practices to enhance transparency and Washington's efforts towards Afghanistan.
It also suggested that the global community should take more definitive roles in confronting the Taliban's capabilities in corruption and human rights violations.
