Australia has imposed sanctions and a travel ban on four senior Taliban officials, citing the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan—particularly the restrictions on women and girls—Pajhwok reported.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced on Saturday that Canberra has introduced a “world-first autonomous sanctions framework” for Afghanistan, enabling Australia to directly apply sanctions and travel restrictions to increase pressure on the Taliban.
The four sanctioned Taliban officials are:
- Muhammad Khalid Hanafi, Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
- Neda Mohammad Nadeem, Minister of Higher Education
- Abdul-Hakim Sharei, Minister of Justice
- Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Australia does not have formal relations with the Taliban government, but during the twenty-year period of the Republic, its troops were actively present in Afghanistan as part of the international forces.
Australia’s Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, stated that these officials were involved in “the oppression of women and girls and the weakening of good governance or the rule of law.”
She added that these measures are part of Australia’s new government framework, which allows the country to “directly impose sanctions and travel restrictions to increase pressure on the Taliban.”
In an audio message, MoVV spokesman Saif-ul-Salam Khyber said the sanctions—particularly against Minister Hanafi—were neither new nor surprising, as similar measures had been applied over the past four years.
Khyber added that such decisions show that “these countries and organizations neither recognize human rights nor are committed to them.”
He said that over the past four years, the ministry had protected the rights of hundreds of thousands of women and prevented violations.
He stated: “Today, thanks to Allah (swt), women in Afghan society have gained the courage to demand their rights. Imposing sanctions under these circumstances suggests that these countries themselves violate human rights or women’s rights, or seek to impose their own customs—practiced in their countries—on Afghans. This is disrespectful and mocks the cultural and religious values of our society.”
hz/sa
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