UN Should Enforce Anti-Taliban Sanctions Properly - Afghanistan's Envoy

Mahmoud Saikal, the permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations said that it was essential to include Taliban leaders in the sanctions lists in due time.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Nations should implement restrictions imposed on the Taliban movement and its leadership in a proper manner, the permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations said Tuesday.

"Any type of outside contact with the Taliban, or other such groups, without the prior knowledge and approval of the Afghan government, was seen as a legitimization of terror, a direct breach of sovereignty, and a clear contravention of the sanctions regimes. Effectively enforcing existing resolutions, including the sanctions regimes, could have a significant impact," Mahmoud Saikal told the UN Security Council (UNSC), as quoted by the TOLONews broadcaster.

He added that it was essential to include Taliban leaders in the sanctions lists in due time.

Earlier this week, Gerard van Bohemen, who is the chair of the UNSC's committee responsible for implementation of the resolution imposing restrictions on Taliban, called for the UNSC to implement the sanctions against the movement within the existing legal framework.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with Taliban insurgents and other extremist factions operating in the country. The United States has been carrying out a counterterrorist operation in Afghanistan since 2001.