International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Thursday that he had requested arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, accusing them of persecuting women and girls in the country.
The two people named in the request are Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group’s chief justice since 2021.
Khan’s office said investigators found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Akhundzada and Haqqani bore criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of gender-based persecution.
The statement highlights that both leaders are involved in the systemic persecution of women, girls and those perceived as allies of Afghan women. This persecution has been ongoing since the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, 2021 and continues today.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the group has imposed severe restrictions on women’s rights, including bans on education, limitations on women’s ability to work, and severe restrictions on their freedom in daily life.
The group’s interpretation of Islamic sharia law has been cited as justification for these actions, although Khan stressed that such an interpretation cannot be used to justify human rights violations.
In a statement, Khan stressed that his office is committed to prosecuting those responsible for gender-based crimes while condemning the continued persecution of Afghan women, girls and the LGBTQI+ community, calling it “unprecedented” and “unconscionable.” .
Khan’s decision is part of the ICC’s broader investigation into potential war crimes in Afghanistan, which has lasted more than a decade and initially focused on alleged crimes committed by the U.S. military.
This is the first time ICC prosecutors have requested arrest warrants regarding Taliban actions since the investigation began in 2007.
The request will now be considered by a panel of three ICC judges, although there is no set timetable for a decision. The procedures usually last around three months.
The request was welcomed by human rights organizations and Afghan women’s rights advocates. However, some analysts suggest that even if the arrest warrants were issued, the practical impact on Akhundzada could be limited, as he rarely leaves Afghanistan.
Zalmai Nishat, founder of the British charity Mosaic Afghanistan, stressed that the decision would, however, seriously damage the Taliban’s international reputation if the arrest warrants were issued.
While this is an important milestone for the ICC, the Court faces its own challenges.
Recent high-profile arrest warrants, such as the one issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin, and looming U.S. sanctions for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have heightened tensions.
The ICC relies on its 125 member states to execute arrest warrants, but some countries, such as Italy, have expressed reluctance to cooperate with such requests, raising questions about the court’s effectiveness in requesting accounts to individuals.
The ICC’s action comes amid growing concern over the treatment of Afghan women and girls, as the international community closely monitors whether the court’s decision will lead to tangible results.
The outcome of the request for arrest warrants could further define the legitimacy and power of the ICC to hold those responsible for gender-based atrocities accountable.
