Moscow (AP) – The Supreme Court of Russia lifted on Thursday the ban on the Taliban, the ruling group of Afghanistan, which was designated as a terrorist organization more than two decades ago.
It is a diplomatic victory for the Taliban, who were included in the list of terrorist organizations of Russia in 2003, which made any contact with them punishable under Russian law.
At the same time, Taliban Delegations have attended several forums organized by Russia, since Moscow has sought to position themselves as a regional power intermediary.
The court ruling on a request from the Attorney General’s Office followed the adoption last year of a law that stipulates that the official designation as a terrorist organization could be suspended by a court.
The former Soviet Union fought a ten -year war in Afghanistan that ended with the withdrawal of its troops in 1989.
Recently, Russian officials have been emphasizing the need to get involved with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan.
In recent years, the nations of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, have eliminated the Taliban from their lists of terrorist groups.
The Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021 while the United States and NATO troops were in the last weeks of withdrawal from the country after two decades of war.
Initially, the Taliban promised a more moderate government that during their first term in the power of 1996 to 2001, but began to impose restrictions on women and girls shortly after the power of power in 2021. Women are prohibited most of the works and public places, including parks, bathrooms and gyms, while girls are prohibited from education beyond sixth grade.
Such measures have isolated the Taliban on the world stage, although their government has established diplomatic ties with countries such as China and the United Arab Emirates.
This year, the UN renewed its call to the Taliban to raise the prohibitions.
The decrees of the group that limit the participation of girls and women have affected foreign aid to the country. The Taliban have also reinstated their strict interpretation of the Islamic law, or Sharia, including public executions.
Some Taliban want a greater commitment to the international community and want to eliminate tougher policies to attract more external support. In recent months, there has been a greater commitment between the Taliban and the United States under President Donald Trump, mainly due to exchanges and releases of prisoners.
Ibraheem Bahiss, a senior analyst of the Group Asia Program, explained that the inclusion of Taliban as a terrorist group was a legal impediment to trade and political ties with Kabul and his uprising reflected Moscow’s desire to improve relations.
“However, beyond facilitating that individuals and companies get involved with Afghanistan, I am not sure which other important benefit will have this,” he said.
The analyst Michael Kugelman estimated that the Russian movement was not innovative because many countries had never formally designated Taliban as a terrorist organization. At the same time, he described the decision as a “win-win” for bilateral relations.
For Russia, he said that he would serve as a confidence construction measure that would help to pave the way for greater commitment and allow Moscow to better protect their interests in Afghanistan, particularly concerns about anti-ruse terrorist groups such as the Islamic-Jorasán state.
“For its part, for the Taliban, the decision of the court is a result that reinforces its legitimacy and that can take advantage to point out the international acceptance of their government,” Kugelman observed.
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The correspondent Riazat Butt contributed this note from Islamabad.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
This article was published by AP News on 2025-04-17 09:34:00
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