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Security Council removes five men from UN’s Taliban sanctions list

Security Council removes five men from UN’s Taliban sanctions list

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A Security Council committee has removed five men from the United Nations list of those subject to sanctions in connection with Al-Qaida and the Taliban, including a former foreign minister of the ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

The Security Council’s Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee, also know as the 1267 committee, approved the deletion (de-listing) of the five individuals on 25 January following a review of the so-called Consolidated List.

The five, who held senior positions during the Taliban regime, are Fazl Mohammad Faizan Qamaruddin, a former deputy minister of commerce; Abdul Hakim Monib Mohammad Nazar, a former deputy minister of frontier affairs; Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil Abdul Ghaffar, former minister of foreign affairs; Shams-Us-Safa Aminzai, a former foreign ministry official; and Mohammad Musa Hottak Abdul Mehdi, former deputy minister of planning.

According to a news release issued by the UN, the five men will no longer be subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo imposed under resolution 1267 of 1999, and related resolutions, by which all UN Member States are required to impose sanctions on Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and those associated with them.

Last month the Council authorized the creation of an ombudsperson, for an initial period of 18 months, to help deal with the question of removing individuals and entities from the List.

The de-listing comes on the eve of a major international conference on Afghanistan to be held in London on Thursday aimed at helping the country chart the way forward following last year’s elections.