US considers travel ban status for Taliban members as contract ends: Report

The US is considering whether to extend a Trump-era waiver that would allow certain officials of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan to continue to travel abroad, the media reported.

According to the 2020 Doha Agreement signed between the US and the Taliban, the extension of the travel ban exemption will end on Monday.

"The Biden administration is locked in a fierce internal debate over whether to extend a Trump-era waiver that would allow select Taliban officials to travel abroad as they grapple with how to pressure the regime on Afghanistan's deteriorating human rights situation," TOLO News quoted a report by Foreign Policy as saying.

Meanwhile, Heather Barr, director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, said that the travel ban exception means a lack of commitment to Afghan women.

To start peace negotiations with the Taliban, the administration of former US President Donald Trump lifted travel sanctions on the Taliban leaders for a temporary period of time.

"The force elements were used during the past 20 years but they didn't have any positive result. I believe that the international community should understand this issue to solve the problems via engagement," TOLO News quoted Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, as saying.

This comes as the UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan human rights, Richard Bennett, is expected to speak at the European Union during his visit to Brussels.

--IANS

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