Sohail Shaheen Calls for Lifting Sanctions on Taliban Officials

Sohail Shaheen, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, has urged the removal of sanctions imposed on the group’s officials by the United Nations Security Council.

Shaheen argued that the sanctions have proven ineffective and should be lifted immediately. “All these restrictions, which hinder the interaction between the international community and the Taliban, must be removed to facilitate positive engagement,” he stated.

The call comes in the wake of a report by the United Nations sanctions monitoring team, which revealed that 61 senior Taliban officials are currently on the global sanctions list. Of these, 35 hold positions in the Taliban’s cabinet and leadership.