Taliban officials removed from UN blacklist
By IANSWednesday, January 27, 2010
UNITED NATIONS - United Nations removed five former Taliban officials from its blacklist Wednesday, pushing forward President Hamid Karzai’s efforts at reconciliation with the armed group in Afghanistan.
The de-listing was approved by a special Security Council committee. The five Afghan nationals would no longer be subject to a freeze on their assets and a travel ban, the UN said in a statement.
The move comes after Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for the lifting of the 2001 UN sanctions against some Taliban leaders, Press TV reported.
Karzai had said he would propose the idea at the international conference on Afghanistan scheduled to be held in London Thursday.
Earlier, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also described the Taliban as part of Afghanistan’s political arena.
“The Taliban…are part of the political fabric of Afghanistan at this point,” the Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying Friday. He made the remarks during his two-day visit to Pakistan.
Gates said the Taliban should lay down their weapons to play a legitimate role in Afghan politics.
