ICC Unseals Arrest Warrants for Two Taliban Ministers

The decision was made on Monday, 5 October, during the 39th meeting of the council’s 63rd session in Geneva. The resolution on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, including the extension of Bennett’s mandate, was adopted by consensus without a vote.

This marks the fifth consecutive extension of Bennett’s mandate since his appointment in 2022 as the UN special rapporteur tasked with monitoring alleged abuses and the human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Before the resolution was adopted, Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva, stressed the need for international accountability in an address to the council.

He specifically called for Bennett’s mandate to be extended as one of the key elements of the resolution and urged all members to adopt the monitoring measure by consensus without a vote.

Bennett’s mandate and the challenges of monitoring the Taliban

The UN Human Rights Council established the mandate of the special rapporteur on Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban returned to power.

Bennett, a New Zealand human rights expert with extensive experience working on rights crises, was tasked with monitoring conditions in Afghanistan, documenting violations and presenting regular reports on developments in the country.

During his tenure, Bennett has focused heavily on sweeping restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls.

He has described the Taliban’s policies of gender segregation and the systematic exclusion of women from education, employment and public life as constituting “gender apartheid” and crimes against humanity, assessments that have drawn strong criticism from Taliban officials.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an interview published in August 2024 that Bennett would no longer be granted a visa to enter Afghanistan.

The Taliban said the decision was based on allegations that Bennett had engaged in “propaganda” and negative campaigning against Afghanistan and had provided “false information” to international organisations.

Despite the ban preventing him from conducting field visits, the latest extension of his mandate in Geneva reflects the UN system’s continued emphasis on gathering evidence, documenting violations of fundamental rights and maintaining international accountability mechanisms concerning Afghanistan.

Speaking on Monday at the eighth Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, Muttaqi said the Taliban sought normal relations with all countries in the region, particularly Pakistan. However, he said the system governing Pakistan’s policy had adopted a military approach towards Afghanistan instead of pursuing political understanding.

The Taliban foreign minister said that problems with Pakistan must be resolved through dialogue. He accused Pakistani officials of resorting to force and pressure rather than political and diplomatic solutions.

Meanwhile, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian president’s special representative for Afghanistan, said the eighth Moscow Format meeting ended without a joint statement because of disagreements between the Taliban and Pakistan.

Kabulov said on Monday, October 5, that Russia regretted the failure to finalise a joint statement at the meeting.

He said disagreements emerged between the “Afghan and Pakistani colleagues” while the final statement was being drafted, preventing the sides from reaching agreement on the text.

According to Kabulov, the Taliban objected to sections of the document referring to Afghanistan in the context of terrorism. He said the Taliban believed Afghanistan had been mentioned “too extensively in relation to terrorism” in this year’s text.

The Russian presidential envoy said Moscow found the Taliban’s position “surprising”, noting that similar language had also appeared in the final statement of the seventh Moscow Format meeting last year.

Muttaqi went on to accuse the Pakistani military of targeting civilians through cross-border attacks on Afghan territory. He said Pakistani forces had targeted universities, hospitals, schools and residential homes “in violation of all principles and international laws”.

He also claimed that Pakistan had carried out air strikes in Afghanistan’s border provinces, killing and wounding civilians.

In another part of his speech, the Taliban foreign minister criticised Pakistan’s treatment of Afghan migrants, saying pressure on Afghan refugees, migrants and students in the country was continuing.

Muttaqi also accused Islamabad of attempting to destabilise Afghanistan. He claimed Pakistan was seeking to create insecurity through some former Afghan military personnel as well as the ISIS.

He said recent security incidents in Badakhshan and Nuristan provinces were also linked to Pakistani support, but provided no further details to substantiate the allegation.

Taliban officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan in recent months of supporting armed opponents of the group. Islamabad has rejected the accusations and, in turn, has called on the Taliban to prevent Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), from operating on Afghan soil.

In his speech, Muttaqi stressed that the Taliban reserved their “legitimate right to self-defence” and would not accept external pressure.

At the same time, he said the Taliban government remained committed to maintaining security in Afghanistan and assured regional countries and the wider international community that Afghan territory would not be used against any country.

The Taliban foreign minister said establishing stability in Afghanistan required cooperation from countries in the region and the wider world, arguing that security could not be achieved solely by strengthening military capabilities.

“Security is directly linked to the economy and stability,” he said, calling on regional countries and the international community to expand economic cooperation with Afghanistan rather than placing pressure on the Taliban.

Muttaqi also claimed that Islamic State had been contained in Afghanistan and that the Taliban government had succeeded in bringing the group’s threat under control. He added that drug cultivation and trafficking had also been brought under control and had declined compared with previous years.

Muttaqi’s remarks at the Moscow Format meeting come amid heightened tensions between Kabul and Islamabad in recent months. The two sides have repeatedly accused each other of supporting armed groups and contributing to instability across the border — allegations denied by both sides.

Lavrov said such deployment was unacceptable under any pretext, arguing that historical experience had shown foreign military presence in Afghanistan leads to instability and increased conflict.

He said foreign military presence in Afghanistan had repeatedly led to the same negative consequences in recent decades.

Lavrov also stressed the need to strengthen Kabul’s counter-terrorism capabilities, saying it was in the interests of all regional countries to support the Taliban’s fight against Islamic State Khorasan Province and other extremist groups through material, technical and intelligence assistance.

Speaking at the Moscow Format meeting on Monday, Lavrov said the Taliban government had performed relatively successfully over the past five years and had dealt significant blows to Islamic State Khorasan Province and other terrorist groups in the security sphere.

He said hundreds of fighters had been eliminated and several major attacks, including planned attacks against foreign nationals and diplomats, had been prevented.

Lavrov said that it is a common interest to help strengthen Kabul’s counter-terrorism potential. voicing support for continued contacts between regional security and intelligence agencies and the Taliban.

The Russian official’s comments on security cooperation with the Taliban come as Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern in recent years over the threat posed by IS-K in Afghanistan, describing it as one of the main security challenges for Central Asian countries and Russia.

Lavrov also said the Taliban government had taken significant measures to curb drug production. Citing an assessment by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, he said opium production in Afghanistan had fallen by about 90% since 2022.

Despite this, the Russian foreign minister acknowledged that Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis continued. Citing UN figures, he said more than 17 million Afghans would face food insecurity during the coming winter and about 28 million people would require humanitarian assistance.

In another part of his remarks, Lavrov again opposed any deployment of NATO military infrastructure in Afghanistan or neighbouring countries, warning that such a presence could lead to further instability and an escalation of conflict in the region.

The eighth Moscow Format meeting comes as Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and Central Asian countries have in recent months stressed the need to address cross-border terrorist threats originating from Afghanistan.

Moscow has repeatedly called on the international community to expand security cooperation with the Taliban government to prevent the spread of IS-K and other extremist groups.

The authors note that threats from Islamic State Khorasan Province have also significantly increased the vulnerability of Hazara communities in different parts of the country.

Examining historical roots and contemporary developments, the research report says that although ISIS is not necessarily aligned with the Taliban, its growing influence and anti-Shia ideology in different areas have contributed significantly to increasing the vulnerability of the Hazara community.

The report also cites the latest findings of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which highlight the continuing difficult conditions faced by Hazaras. These include the killing of 12 civilians at a Shia shrine in Herat province in April 2026 and the detention of 45 Shia men in Kabul on June 18, 2026 for displaying Ashura flags.

The report also points to less visible forms of pressure, including forced displacement and apartheid. The authors say that over the past five years, the Taliban has dismantled police infrastructure in Hazara-populated areas, which they argue has contributed to insecurity.

As an example, the report cites the forced displacement of Hazara residents from the village of Pusht-e Asmidan in Sar-e Pol province in 2023. It also says that while the report was being prepared, a grenade explosion at a school in Dasht-e-Barchi injured more than 40 children.

Genocide Watch makes several recommendations aimed at improving the situation and ensuring accountability. It says international accountability mechanisms should seriously examine and investigate the Taliban’s role in facilitating attacks against Hazaras, including the dismantling of police infrastructure in Hazara areas and alleged failures to protect Shia religious gatherings and schools.

The organisation also calls on the UN Secretary-General and UNAMA to formally investigate and report on ISIS attacks against Hazaras, with the findings to be referred to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Genocide Watch further urges donor countries and UN agencies to address barriers faced by Hazara women and girls by providing adequate funding for gender-responsive humanitarian services, including mobile health clinics and psychological support programmes.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow was continuously monitoring security developments along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border and would continue supporting Dushanbe in strengthening protection of its southern frontier.

Sternik, director of the Third Department of the Commonwealth of Independent States at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with RIA Novosti published on Monday, October 5, that security along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border remained a constant focus for Moscow.

The senior Russian diplomat said Russian security agencies were continuing to deliver technical equipment, military hardware and weapons to Tajik border forces as part of an interstate programme of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) aimed at strengthening the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, approved on November 28, 2024.

He said the assistance was also being provided under a programme to modernise Tajikistan’s armed forces through 2042.

Under a decision by CSTO member-state leaders in 2024, an interstate programme to strengthen Tajikistan’s state border with Afghanistan was developed and implemented for a five-year period.

Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, which lies along the border with Tajikistan, has experienced an increase in armed clashes in recent months.

Alongside the activities of armed opponents of the Taliban, the presence of regional extremist groups in Afghanistan has also raised security concerns among Central Asian countries.

Islamic State Khorasan Province is also active in Afghanistan, while regional countries have repeatedly expressed concern about threats posed by armed groups operating from Afghan territory.

Earlier, CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov expressed concern about the situation along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. He said the first shipments of weapons and equipment intended to strengthen the border would be delivered to Dushanbe this autumn.

According to Masadykov, Russia is playing the main role in supplying the equipment. However, he did not directly link the delivery of weapons and equipment to Tajikistan with the recent clashes in Badakhshan.

The CSTO secretary-general nevertheless stressed that the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border should be reinforced as quickly as possible, warning that any security problem in the area could also affect other member states of the organisation.

Russia’s defence minister has also said that the country’s military bases in Tajikistan have been placed on full alert to respond to potential threats.