INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Members of the United Nations Security Council remained divided Monday over whether to exempt some of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan&s
(IEA) officials from a travel ban, diplomatic sources said.Under a 2011 Security Council resolution, 135 IEA leaders are subject to a
sanctions regime that includes asset freezes and travel bans.Thirteen of them benefited from an exemption from the travel ban, renewed
regularly, to allow them to meet officials from other countries abroad, AFP reported.But this exemption ended last Friday, after Ireland
objected to its automatic renewal for another month.In June, the Sanctions Committee in charge of Afghanistan, comprised of the Security
Council&s 15 members, had already removed from the exemptions list two IEA ministers responsible for education, in retaliation for the
drastic reduction in the rights of women and girls, AfP reported.Several Western countries would like to further reduce the list, according
to diplomatic sources.China and Russia, however, supported a regular extension of exemptions list.&These exemptions are still just as
necessary,& the Chinese presidency of the Security Council said last week, deeming it &counterproductive& to link human rights to travel
issues for IEA officials.Since last week, and again Monday, several compromise proposals that would more or less shrink the list of
officials concerned, or the number of authorized destinations, have been rejected on both sides, according to diplomatic sources.Discussions
are expected to continue.Pending a possible decision, none of the IEA officials on the sanctions list can travel, AFP reported.That was of
particular concern to the IEA&s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, who has visited Qatar several times in recent months for diplomatic
discussions and who was among the 13 exemptions.In a statement posted Saturday on Twitter, a foreign ministry spokesman called on the
Security Council ¬ to use sanctions as pressure tool& and said all sanctions against IEA officials should be lifted.&If the travel ban is
extended, it will create distance instead of promoting dialogue - engagement, an outcome that must be prevented,& the spokesman said.The
post UN split over ban on IEA officials& travel first appeared on Ariana News.
