The Taliban government claims that they respect women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law.
Akhunzada has been the highest leader of the Taliban since 2016 and led the fact that they call the Islamic Imara of Afghanistan, since the forces under the leadership of the United States (USA) left the country in August 2021. In the 1980s, he participated in Islamic groups that fought against the Soviet military campaigns in Afghanistan.
Hakkani is a close colleague of the founder of the Taliban, mullah Omar, and once acted as a negotiator representing the Taliban in negotiations with representatives of the United States in 2020.
The ICC has a mandate for investigating and pursuing those who are responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, especially when national authorities cannot or do not want to pursue.
Nevertheless, the ICC does not have its own police forces and, therefore, depends on the member countries for arrests.
The prospect of issuing an arrest warrant for two Taliban leaders first appeared in January, when the head of the prosecutor Mus Karim Khan accused them of criminalizing the persecution of Afghan girls and women, as well as people offered by the Taliban, not in accordance with their ideological expectations against gender identity or expression, and against those who were considered by them.
At that time, the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the threat of arrest, accusing the MUS of closing his eyes to various war crimes and crimes against humanity, which, according to them, were carried out by foreign troops and local allies, citing the existence of troops received in Afghanistan until 2021.
Human Raits Vech greeted the arrest warrant for two Taliban leaders.
“In order to stop the cycle of violence and impunity in Afghanistan, the victims of all criminals must have an equal access to justice,” the statement said.
