The Islamic Emirate urged the United Nations to remove the names of its members from the blacklist, saying that instead of pressure, the international community should engage with the interim government of Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that nearly 20 to 25 members of the Islamic Emirate are on the blacklist.

“We can say that there are between 20 to 25 people who are on the blacklist and they were sanctioned. Some of them have died, of those who are alive, very few of them are now working in the government,” he said.

Mujahid said the placing of the Islamic Emirate’s officials on the blacklist of the UN is against the Doha agreement.

“We have said many times that pressure and force will not bring any results. The war of the past 20 years has proven it that the people of Afghanistan will not surrender to pressure. Engagement and understanding are better and negotiations are a good option,” Mujahid said.

This comes as political analysts said that neglecting the demands of the international community caused the continued presence of Islamic Emirate members on the UN blacklist.

“Ensuring the rights of women for education and work and including representatives that are not Taliban at the leadership level of Afghanistan after the intra-Afghan dialogue” is the reason for the sanctions, said Torek Farhadi, political analyst.

“I think it is part of the world’s political pressure on the Islamic Emirate; until the Islamic Emirate observes the current system and current international laws,” said Saleem Kakar, a political analyst.

In August 2022, a UN waiver allowing 13 Afghan Islamic officials to travel abroad expired after the Security Council failed to reach an agreement on whether to extend the travel exemptions.