ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants Against Taliban Leaders

Gandapur said that the federal government's efforts to make peace with neighbouring countries have not borne fruit.

Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday, January 21, that Gandapur said at a press conference in Dera Ismail Khan that the "Afghan issue" would only be resolved through dialogue.

"The delegation will go to Afghanistan within two weeks and hold talks (with the Taliban)," the chief minister said. We will find solutions to problems. I hope they will cooperate with our jirga (tribal leaders' board)."

After the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government and army have repeatedly held talks with Taliban officials about curbing the threat posed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Earlier, Pakistani political and military officials hosted by Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul held talks with TTP leaders.

The talks ended inconclusively after several months and a short-lived ceasefire between the army and the Pakistani Taliban, and clashes resumed.

In recent months, the TTP has intensified its attacks on areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Pakistani army has recently stepped up clearance operations in various areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Pakistani army and government accuse the Afghan Taliban of not cooperating with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in curbing the threats, but the Pakistani Taliban are organising their operations from Afghan soil against targets on Pakistani soil.

The Pakistani army recently bombed the border areas of Afghanistan's southeastern provinces several times.

CPJ has listed proof of how Afghan journalists have been detained and deported forcefully.

A letter sent to CPJ on January 16, by the independent watchdog group, the Pak-Afghan International Forum of Journalists, stated that during the first week of January 2025, Pakistani security forces detained two Afghan journalists and their families before deporting them to Afghanistan. The letter did not disclose the names of the deported journalists, who are members of the forum.

“Pakistan’s security agencies must immediately halt the harassment and deportation of Afghan journalists,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator. “These journalists fled Afghanistan due to the Taliban’s threats to their lives. The Pakistani government must protect them, not mistreat them.”

CPJ also stated that Afghan journalists Mujeeb Awrang and Ahmad Mosavi were detained by Pakistani authorities at their homes in the capital, Islamabad on January 3. Both the journalists were held in a vehicle for three hours, despite having presented valid Pakistani visas and Afghan passports, as per CPJ. The journalists claimed that they were threatened with imprisonment and deportation before being released without explanation.

The Pakistani government has instructed Afghan nationals, including journalists, to relocate from Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi to other cities by January 15.

Afghan journalists continue to face imprisonment and persecution by the Taliban, with Afghan News Agency reporter Mahdi Ansary, sentenced on January 1 to 18 months in prison on charges of disseminating anti-Taliban propaganda.

Pakistan’s federal information minister Attaullah Tarar did not respond to CPJ’s request for comments on the issue.

The German government has also accepted the Taliban's order to end the work of these diplomats.

The Taliban's Foreign Ministry letter states that the mission of these diplomats had already ended, but they continue their work.

According to the letters, which were written on December 18, 2024, the Afghan embassy in Berlin has been instructed not to allow the six diplomats to work again starting from the end of December 2024.

The letters mention Noor Ahmad Salangi, first secretary of the Afghan embassy in Berlin; Farid Khan, second secretary, and Mohammad Nasim Faqirzada, third secretary of the embassy, as well as Bijan Paya Taheri and Karamuddin Bayazidi as consuls and Mohammad Zahir Yaftali as attaché at the Afghan consulate in Bonn.

The Taliban's Foreign Ministry has asked the Afghan embassy in Berlin to share the matter with the host country and report to the ministry.

In a letter sent to the Afghan embassy in Berlin on December 20, two days after the letters were sent, the German Foreign Ministry said that it would officially announce the termination of the official mission of the six diplomats.

The ministry's letter, a copy of which was provided to Afghanistan International, emphasises that accepting the Taliban's request does not mean that the Taliban regime is officially recognised as the official government of Afghanistan, but is based on international law.

The German Foreign Ministry note states that "a reasonable deadline for the departure of diplomats and consular officers, as well as their family members, has been set at January 30, 2025," and that their diplomatic privileges and immunities will expire on the same date.

With the removal of the six diplomats, only two of them, Abdul Baqi Popal and Mohammad Asif Abdullah, who have "long-standing ties with the Taliban regime", will take control of the Afghan embassy and consulate in Berlin and Bonn, diplomatic sources told Afghanistan International.

On November 19, 2024, Afghanistan's ambassador to Germany, Yama Yari, announced that he had stepped down from his position at the request of the host country.

Diplomatic sources told Afghanistan International at the time that Abdul Baqi Popal had taken over as the head of the Afghan embassy in Germany instead of Yari.

Omari also called for a suitable market for Afghan agricultural products in Russia.

The Taliban's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that Mullah Abdul Manan Omari met with Russian Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov and a delegation led by Nikolai Sazhnov, the government's economic and trade adviser.

In this meeting, he said, "The Taliban want good interaction and mutual respect with the countries of the region and the world. Fortunately, this approach has strengthened political relations and established economic and trade relations with some countries."

Referring to Russia's "importance and position in the region," he called for expanding economic relations with Russia. The Taliban's Minister of Labour once again proposed sending Afghan workers to the Russian Federation.

This request comes as Omari had earlier proposed the issue of sending Afghan workers to the country in a meeting with Russian Labour Minister Anton Kotyakov in June this year.

Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov announced significant progress in trade relations between Afghanistan and Russia and stressed that his country is committed to further developing economic relations with Afghanistan.

In the past three years, economic cooperation between Russia, Central Asian countries, and Afghanistan has gained significant momentum. In addition to expanding economic relations, these countries have also taken the lead in political interactions with the Taliban.

Russia recently removed the Taliban from its list of banned groups. Earlier, Kazakhstan had also removed the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups.

Falconer said that the UK would continue to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions against women and girls.

The British Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday, January 22, said in a video posted on the social media platform X that the country will not allow Afghan women and girls to be forgotten.

In the video at the UN headquarters in New York, Falconer stressed that he raised the UK's concerns about the "appalling" situation of Afghan women and girls with key representatives, regional partners and the UN.

"Afghanistan is the only country in the world that has banned secondary education for girls," he said. "The UK condemns in the strongest terms the Taliban's decision to ban women's medical education and their renewed efforts to ban women from working in non-governmental organisations."

The British official stressed that his country will continue to work to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions and support a better future for the Afghan people together with its partners.

"The Taliban can never expect support or engagement from the international community unless they change their position," Falconer stressed.