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UN moves on lifting sanctions from Afghan ex-Taliban UN splits Taliban and al-Qaeda on sanctions blacklist
(40 minutes later)
The UN Security Council is expected to separate Taliban and al-Qaeda figures on a sanctions blacklist in a step towards removing ex-Taliban members. The UN has split a sanctions blacklist for the Taliban and al-Qaeda to encourage the Taliban to join reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan.
Western diplomats say the move is aimed at supporting President Hamid Karzai's efforts for a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan. Until now, both organisations have been handled by the same UN sanctions committee.
The UN has been asked by Kabul to remove about 50 former Taliban figures from the sanctions blacklist. The UN Security Council says it is sending a signal to the Taliban that now is the time to join the political process.
The list, formed more than 10 years ago, contains about 450 names. Diplomats say the move recognises that the two groups have different goals.
Fewer than one-third of those names - of individuals and entities - are believed to be Taliban-related. Al-Qaeda is seeking worldwide jihad (holy war) while the Taliban are involved in an insurgency focused in Afghanistan.
When the blacklist was drawn up, all sorts of anti-Western militants were grouped together as equally dangerous, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani. The council unanimously passed two resolutions - one to set up a new blacklist of individuals and groups accused of links to al-Qaeda and a second for those linked to the Taliban militia.
A decade on, and there has been a re-think - largely driven by the need to bring the conflict to an end somehow. The US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said in a statement that the move sent "a clear message to the Taliban that there is a future for those who separate from al-Qaeda, renounce violence and abide by the Afghan constitution".
The move is a recognition on the part of the UN that the two groups have different agendas, and hence should be treated differently, Shahzeb Jillani adds. There are currently 138 Taliban and 253 al-Qaeda names on what will now be two separate UN blacklists.
The Taliban are focused on fighting coalition-led forces in Afghanistan, while al-Qaeda's main focus has always been global jihad. Afghan plea
Western diplomats say that with the death of Osama Bin Laden there is now a new opportunity to encourage the Taliban to break ranks with al-Qaeda and join the political process. The UN has been asked by Kabul to remove about 20 former Taliban figures from the list.
It originally asked for 50 names to be considered, but withdrew many because paperwork to back up their cases was not available.
The sanctions committee is due to debate the remaining cases in mid-July.
Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said there could be political talks with the Taliban by the end of this year.
Washington is due to start withdrawing its 97,000 troops from Afghanistan next month as it gradually hands over all security operations to Afghan security forces by 2014.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan before being driven from power by US-backed forces in 2001. It had sheltered al-Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden.