By Fatima Adib in TOLOnews Online, June 01, 2023 at 9:15 PM
19 US Republican senators on Wednesday were preparing to introduce a bill titled the “Taliban Sanctions Act” to impose sanctions on the Islamic Emirate for “human rights abuses” in Afghanistan.
The bill would block and prohibit all transactions of property held by the Islamic Emirate, as well as invalidate all visas or other documentation permitting entry to the US.
The Islamic Emirate “allowed Afghanistan to once again become a safe-haven for terrorists,” said Sen. Jim Risch.
According to the US Foreign Relations Committee, the Taliban Sanctions Act includes: “Sanctions relating to support for terrorism, sanctions relating to human rights abuses, sanctions relating to drug trafficking,” and “support for multilateral sanctions with respect to the Taliban.”
Political analysts gave various opinions on the matter.
“The leaders of the interim government needs to get along with the international community as soon as possible and take practical steps to fulfill their wishes which is in fact the wishes of the people of Afghanistan, and they also needs to take practical steps to alleviate the human rights issues, particularly the rights of women,” said Najib Rahman Shamal, a political analyst.
“History witnesses that no kind of political and economic sanctions have impacted the rulers. The political and economic sanctions impact the nation,” said Wais Naseri, political analyst.
However, the Islamic Emirate said that the pressure will not bring any good results and that the US should focus on engagement instead of applying pressure.
“The whole world, particularly the Americans, should know that imposing pressure will not bring any result. It is better that they share their proposals through diplomatic and legal channels,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman.
Earlier, in response to the ban on women attending university and working for NGOs in Afghanistan, the US State Department has imposed new visa restrictions on a number of current and former officials of the Islamic Emirate.
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-183607
