Sunday, July 17, 2011

UN Security Council begins removing Taliban figures from blacklist in sign of support-BBC

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"Civilian and military casualties are at levels not seen for a decade in Afghanistan - last year more than 2,400 civilians died."

7/16/11, "Afghanistan: UN drops Taliban names from sanctions list," BBC

"Fourteen former Afghan Taliban leaders have been removed from an international blacklist by the UN Security Council.

President Hamid Karzai's government had asked the UN sanctions committee to drop the names from the list.

They include four members of the High Peace Council set up last year to pave the way for talks with the Taliban.

The Security Council said the delisting of the names sent out a strong signal of support for the Afghan government's reconciliation efforts....

But according to the Associated Press news agency, the Afghan government had wanted 50 names dropped from the blacklist.

It had provided extensive documentation to show they had reintegrated into society, but the committee refused to remove them from the list, the agency says.

Following Friday's decision, 123 names remain on the Taliban sanctions list that imposes travel bans and asset freezes.

Analysts say the US and Nato acknowledge that they cannot withdraw successfully from Afghanistan, or effect a transition to Afghan forces by 2014, without an end to the war and some kind of political settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban."...

"Names removed on High Peace Council

  • Arsalan Rahmani Daulat: Former Taliban deputy higher education minister
  • Habibullah Fawzi: Former Taliban diplomat
  • Sayeedur Rahman Haqani: Former Taliban deputy mines minister
  • Faqir Mohammad: Former Taliban deputy minister"

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