ICC prosecutor seeks arrest of Taliban leader for ‘assaulting Afghan girls and women’

In a statement, Mr Khan said the two men were “criminally responsible for the abuse of Afghan girls and women, as well as those whom the Taliban consider not to conform to ideological expectations of gender identity or expression, and those whom the Taliban consider allies . women and girls”.

Opposition to the Taliban government was “brutally suppressed through the commission of crimes including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, forced disappearances, and other inhumane acts”, he added.

The persecution was carried out from at least August 15, 2021 until now, across Afghanistan, the statement said.

Akhundzada became the Taliban’s top commander in 2016, and is now the leader of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In the 1980s, he participated in Islamist groups against the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan.

Haqqani is a close associate of Taliban founder Mullah Omar and was a negotiator on behalf of the Taliban during discussions with US representatives in 2020.

The Taliban government has yet to comment on the ICC statement.

The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, 20 years after a US-led invasion overthrew their regime in the 9/11 attacks in New York, but their government is not officially recognized by any other foreign power.

The “law of morality” has since meant that women have lost dozens of rights in the country.

Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world where women and girls are prevented from accessing secondary and higher education – some one-and-a-half million have been deliberately excluded from school.

The Taliban have repeatedly promised that they will be re-entered into schools once some issues are resolved – including ensuring the “Islamic” curriculum. This has not happened.

Beauty salons have been closed and women are prevented from entering public parks, gyms and baths.

The dress code means they must be fully covered and strict rules prohibit them from traveling without a male companion or looking a man in the eye unless they are related by blood or marriage.

In December, women were also banned from practicing as midwives and nurses, effectively closing off the last route to further education in the country.