ICC Prioritises Gender-Based Crimes in Afghanistan

In a statement on Wednesday, December 4, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, the deputy head of the chamber, cited various factors as the main reasons for the decline.

He said that the Pakistani government had imposed restrictions such as a temporary acceptance document, the requirement of a bank guarantee equal to the value of goods, adding 14 items to the negative list, imposing a 10 percent tariff on Afghanistan's transit goods, and stopping more than 300 Afghan commercial containers at Karachi port, which led to a decline in trade relations between the two countries.

Sarhadi added that these policies have caused a large part of Afghanistan's trade to be transferred to Iran's Chabahar port instead of Karachi port, as a result of which thousands of people have lost their jobs in Pakistani customs.

He also criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's decision to impose an additional two percent tariff on export goods sent to Afghanistan through the Torkham border. The tariff, which is aimed at developing the state's infrastructure, has put more pressure on traders.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce has called for an immediate review of these policies to prevent further damage to trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

In the past few decades, Afghan governments have had not very warm relations with Pakistan due to their proximity to India. Strained relations and hostility between Islamabad and Kabul have hurt land trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Although the Afghan Taliban enjoyed broad support from Pakistan in the war against the previous government for the past 20 years, after the fall of the government, the Taliban's relationship with Islamabad deteriorated due to its support for Pakistani militants.

Pakistan has ignored the Taliban's repeated calls to improve economic relations and solve the problem of Afghan businessmen in the field of trade.

Engagement with the group without prioritising human rights is counterproductive, she said.

"In the past three years, the Taliban has deprived women of their most basic rights, such as the right to education, decision-making, travel, and even to speak in public," Amiri wrote on social media platform X on Thursday in response to the Taliban's new decree banning women from attending medical institutes.

She stated that these policies are a clear example of gender discrimination and an attempt to exclude women from society.

Amiri added that the Taliban's closure of health institutes would eliminate access to vital health services, including maternal care. She called the decision inhumane and a threat to the lives of Afghan women and children, warning that these actions endanger the future of the country.

The US Special Representative clarified that preventing the training of female doctors and prohibiting the treatment of women and girls by male doctors is inhumane and illogical.

The Taliban's new decree has sparked a wave of international condemnation. In addition to the United States, countries such as Germany and France, the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and human rights organisations have described the decision as "unacceptable" and "destructive”.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson of the ministry, expressed concern about the unification of terrorist groups on Afghan soil and its transformation into a regional threat.

In her weekly press briefing on Thursday, December 5, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that issues related to terrorism are important in the talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan. "Pakistan and Afghanistan discussed the dimensions of the fight against the threat posed by Pakistan from terrorist elements who have found hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan," she said.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch also expressed concern about the unification of terrorist groups on Afghan soil and their transformation into a regional threat.

In that case, she said, Pakistan would like to take immediate and effective action against these terrorist groups.

Khan expressed hope that the decisions of the Hague court would "alleviate some of the pain of Afghan women".

Referring to human rights violations in Afghanistan this week, Karim Khan said that he would soon apply for an arrest warrant for those involved in human rights violations.

Recently, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Luxembourg, and Mexico referred the case of Afghanistan, especially the violation of women's rights in this country, to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The International Criminal Court also confirmed that it had received the case.

The court is also expected to issue arrest warrants for some Taliban leaders involved in "systematic violence" against women and "the prevailing gender apartheid in Afghanistan".

In a meeting with Afghan women activists in The Hague, Karim Khan once again referred to the countries' requests, saying, "Soon you will hear news about your country”.

Human rights activist Horia Musadiq was quoted as saying that the chief prosecutor of the Hague court said, "He hopes that the court's decisions can alleviate some of the pain and suffering of the Afghan people, especially Afghan women, and that those responsible for the crimes will be brought to justice."

The Hague prosecutor has refused to name the Taliban, but the group has a case that Karim Khan and his team are handling because of its policies that have completely deprived Afghan women of their rights.

Past Crimes

On Thursday, a number of Afghan activists met with Karim Khan. Horia Musadiq, one of the participants, told Afghanistan International that during the meeting, she called for an investigation into the crimes and violence of the past 20 years.

She said that in order to investigate the crimes committed over the past 20 years, whether by the Taliban or by NATO and US forces in Afghanistan, a special tribunal should be established similar to the war crimes tribunal in the former Yugoslavia.

Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, also posted a photo of Afghan women activists meeting with Karim Khan at the International Criminal Court (ICC) headquarters in The Hague on Thursday, and wrote, "The prosecutor announced that he would soon request an arrest warrant."

Afghan women's activists are in the corridors of the criminal court seeking to hold the perpetrators of serious crimes in Afghanistan accountable, she said.

Despite repeated calls by the international community, human rights organizations, and especially Afghan women to lift restrictions imposed on women in Afghanistan, the Taliban has increased these restrictions over the past three years.

After banning girls from studying above the sixth grade, the Taliban banned the education of girls and women in higher education centres and universities, and in the latest move, closed the only remaining educational institution, namely medical institutes, to girls.

He said that his country's relations with the Taliban would decline and the Taliban's demand to take over the Afghan embassy in Oslo would not be accepted.

However, Espen Barth Eide said on Thursday that his country would accept only one "Afghan official" to handle "consular affairs, visas and other urgent issues".

He did not specify whether the Afghan official belongs to the Taliban administration or will hand over consular affairs to one of the diplomats of the former government.

Norway closed the Afghan embassy in Oslo on September 12 at the request of the Taliban. For the past three years, the Afghan embassy has been run by diplomats loyal to the former Afghan government.

After the closure of the embassy in Oslo, there were reports that Norway was planning to hand over the embassy to the Taliban.

"We have made it clear to the Taliban that this is not possible," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said, AFP reported. "Recently, new restrictions have been imposed in Afghanistan, which have specifically affected Afghan women and girls," he added.

The Taliban leader this week closed private and public medical institutes to girls and women. Medical institutes were the only institutions where women continued to be trained in midwifery and nursing.

Norway is one of the few European countries that has had relations and cooperation with the Taliban since the beginning. However, the Taliban's extensive restrictions on women have caused the country to reconsider its relations.

Many human rights organisations and some countries have called the Taliban's increasing restrictions on women and girls a clear example of crimes against humanity and gender apartheid.