India demands sanctions against new Taliban leader Haibatullah

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, at a Security Council debate on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Tuesday, said the new Taliban leader should be sanctioned as US State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner had said in a press briefing then that Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada was not on any kind of a terrorist designated list. 

He further emphasised that groups and individuals perpetrating violence against the people and government of Afghanistan cannot have safe havens and should not be allowed to exercise control and wield influence over any part of Afghanistan’s territory. 

Previously, India has slammed the UN sanctions committee for taking a “selective approach” in tackling terrorism when a technical hold was put on its application to include the name of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar on the committee’s list of designated terrorists.