Taliban Rejects ICC Arrest Warrants, Calls Them “Politically Motivated”

The Taliban government on Thursday called the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) move to seek arrest warrants for its senior leaders “politically motivated” and based on “double standards.” The ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced the warrants yesterday, accusing the Taliban of crimes against humanity over the persecution of women in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said, “Like many other decisions of the ICC, it is devoid of a fair legal basis, is a matter of double standards, and is politically motivated.” The ministry also accused the ICC of ignoring war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by foreign forces during the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan.

Taliban Challenges ICC’s Credibility

Mohammad Nabi Omari, the Taliban’s deputy interior minister and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, reacted to the ICC’s decision, saying the group would not be intimidated. At an event in Khost City, he said, “The ICC can’t scare us. If these were fair and true courts, they should have brought America to the court because it is America that has caused wars.”

Other than that, Omari labeled the ICC allegations of selective justice. The prime minister alleged the self-imposed selective justice when the ICC in November 2023 issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders. “What makes them look blind to war crimes committed in Gaza or wars started by America?” he asked.

ICC Issues Warrants Against Taliban Leaders

The ICC’s warrants target Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, holding them responsible for the systematic oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan. Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has banned women from education, employment in most sectors, and public spaces such as parks. Women have also been forced to adopt strict Islamic dress codes and adhere to other restrictive measures under the Taliban’s interpretation of sharia law.

The Taliban has been held by Karim Khan as carrying out “an unprecedented, unconscionable, and ongoing persecution” of women. He went further to add, “Our action signals that the status quo for women and girls in Afghanistan is not acceptable.”

Taliban’s Defence and International Opposition

The Taliban asserts that its policies are consistent with Islamic law as well as the cultural values of Afghanistan. However, these rules have created much outcry among the international organizations and the Islamic scholars. Critics argue that the Taliban’s understanding of sharia law is extreme and inconsistent with the practices of Islam in most parts of the world.

The Foreign Ministry’s statement further went on to state that the ICC was imposing a Western-centric interpretation of human rights and added, “The court should not try to impose a certain understanding of human rights upon the entire world and disregard religious and national values of other nations.

The ICC, based in The Hague, has no enforcement mechanism of its own and relies on member states to execute arrest warrants. Afghanistan is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which complicates the court’s ability to bring Taliban leaders to justice.

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