US considering foreign terrorist designation for Taliban

Decision on whether to impose more stringent sanctions on Afghan group under review, Rubio tells committee

Taliban forces on patrol in Kabul in 2021, a day after the withdrawal of US troops. Reuters

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told the House foreign affairs committee that the US was reviewing whether to designate the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.

Mr Rubio was on Capitol Hill testifying before the House of Representatives committee on the proposed State Department budget.

The Taliban are identified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group in the US. An FTO designation comes with more stringent sanctions.

FTO sanctions freeze the assets of the designated group. They differ from SDGT designations in that they make it a crime to provide “material support or resources” to a designated group; members of an FTO are automatically inadmissible to the US; and victims of terrorist attacks and their survivors are able to file civil lawsuits against FTOs and the entities that support them, according to the Atlantic Council think tank.

The Taliban have ruled Afghanistan since 2021, retaking power after the chaotic US withdrawal.

Since they returned to power, the Taliban have reinstated their strict interpretation of Islamic law. They have essentially erased women and girls from public life, from schools to journalism to public parks, and have removed protection for minority ethnic and religious groups.

But critics have said an FTO designation often has the unintended consequence of obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Even before the US withdrawal, Afghanistan was a major recipient of US and other foreign aid, and the assistance continues to help prop up its economy.

Mr Rubio's comments come after the US announced Afghanistan would be removed from the list of countries whose citizens have Temporary Protected Status.

The Department of Homeland Security said that “conditions in Afghanistan no longer meet the statutory requirements” for TPS, which provides protection from deportation as well as the ability to work in the US to citizens of countries experiencing conflict or other crises.

“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilising economy no longer prevents them from returning to their home country.”