Updated UN sanctions list includes 22 Taliban officials, including 14 cabinet members

An updated United Nations Security Council sanctions list includes 22 Taliban officials, among them 13 members of the Taliban cabinet, according to documents released after the council extended the mandate of its sanctions committee for another year.

Those listed include Taliban Chief Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund and his deputies Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi.

Cabinet members on the sanctions list Taliban include Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Refugees Minister Abdul Kabir, Energy and Water Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor, Mines Minister Hidayatullah Badri, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Economy Minister Din Mohammad Hanif, Justice Minister Noor Mohammad Saqib, Transport Minister Mohammad Fazl Mazloom, Public Works Minister Mohammad Isa Akhund, and Taliban Urban Development Minister Minister Najib Haqqani.

The list also includes Abdul Haq Wasiq, head of Taliban intelligence, as well as several other Taliban officials including Hamidullah Akhund, a deputy defense minister; Abdul Baqi Haqqani, head of the National Examination Authority; Qudratullah Jamal, deputy minister of information and culture; Nooruddin Turabi, head of the disaster management authority; Ahmad Zia Agha, deputy governor of the central bank, and and Taliban information and culture minister Khairullah Khairkhwa.

Two other individuals listed are Azizur Rahman Abdul Ahad and Malik Noorzi, identified as Taliban members.

Under the UN sanctions regime, those listed face asset freezes, travel bans and an arms embargo.

The sanctions were established under UN Security Council Resolution 1988, which targets Taliban members and individuals or entities associated with the group.

According to UN information, 135 Taliban members and affiliated individuals, along with five entities linked to the Taliban, are currently subject to sanctions.

The updated list does not include Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have repeatedly called for international sanctions to be lifted, while many governments say the restrictions remain in place because of concerns about terrorism and human rights in Afghanistan.