Kazakhstan Removes Taliban from List of Terrorist Organizations

Astana, MINA – Kazakhstan removed the Afghan Taliban movement from the list of terrorist organizations.

In an interview with the Kazakh news agency Kazinform on Friday, the country’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Aybek Smadiyarov said that the Taliban was not listed as a terrorist organization by the UN Security Council, Anadolu Agency reported.

“Kazakhstan regularly conducts audits of the national list of terrorist organizations banned in the republic in order to update it. As part of this process, it was decided to exclude the Taliban movement in accordance with UN practice. “Thus, in accordance with binding UN Security Council resolutions, the Taliban movement is not included in the list of organizations recognized by the UN Security Council as terrorists,” he said.

“Further contacts between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan will be developed based on the UN position, and resolutions approved by the UN General Assembly and Security Council,” he said.

Commenting on the move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said this decision may have a positive impact on the development of dialogue between the Kazakh and Afghan authorities, and strengthen mutual trust, including in joint efforts to maintain regional security and combat terrorism and drug crimes.

“This step will contribute to Afghanistan’s exit from international isolation and further integration into global political and economic processes, and will open up new opportunities for humanitarian support for the Afghan population,” the Ministry said.

The ministry also hopes that this step will facilitate inter-Afghan reconciliation efforts and contribute to the stabilization of the situation in the country.

The Taliban returned to rule Afghanistan in August 2021 after two decades of war. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)