The Hague: The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan Thursday sought arrest warrants for Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and Afghanistan's interim Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. Khan said his office filed two applications for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC over the situation in the war-torn nation.

According to Anadolu Agency, Khan stated that his office has been independently and impartially examining alleged crimes committed against Afghan civilians since the Pre-Trial Chamber allowed the investigation in October 2022. The investigation into the situation in Afghanistan is being led by the ICC's Afghanistan Unified Team, headed by Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan.

Khan emphasized that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Haqqani bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds, as stipulated under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute. He concluded that these individuals are responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women, as well as others whom the Taliban perceived as not conforming to their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression, and those perceived as allies of girls and women.

The persecution allegedly took place from at least August 15, 2021, and continues to the present day across Afghanistan. The Taliban regained control of Kabul in August 2021 following the withdrawal of foreign forces. Under their interim administration, restrictions have been imposed, including barring girls from education beyond the sixth grade.

Khan further stated that the Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law should not be used to justify the deprivation of fundamental human rights or the commission of crimes under the Rome Statute.