U.N. to impose sanctions on Taliban

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, DEC. 6. The United Nations Security Council is all set to impose sweeping sanctions against the Taliban and demand that Pakistan immediately end its military and political intervention in Afghanistan.

At the heart of the U.N. resolution, to be introduced by the United States and Russia tonight for informal consultations among the members, is a ban on arms supply and military assistance to the Taliban.

The new sanctions regime, which focusses on the Pakistan military's nexus with the Taliban, is a huge setback for Islamabad which has been lobbying against the resolution. Pakistan could not get even China, its long-standing political partner, to block or dilute the joint U.S.-Russian move.

The discussion among the non-permanent members of the Security Council follows the understanding among the five permanent members to press ahead with additional measures against the Taliban. The full Security Council is expected to discuss and approve the resolution in the next few days.

The proposed ban on arms supply applies only to the Taliban and does not include external military support to its opponents in the northern alliance.

The U.N.'s deliberate targeting of the Taliban puts its mentor Pakistan in a difficult spot.

The resolution, once approved, will oblige Pakistan to end military support to the Taliban. It will demand that Pakistan withdraw all its nationals - whether military advisers or holy warriors sent from madrasas (religious schools) - from Taliban- controlled territory.

The U.N. resolution, diplomatic sources here say, amounts to putting Pakistan on notice to either change its policy of extending support to the Taliban and international terrorism or face the consequences.

The Security Council is also expected to demand that the Taliban shut down all training camps for terrorists within a month and ask the U.N. to closely monitor the closure.

Among the other sanctions to be imposed are closure of all Taliban offices abroad, reduction of staff at its diplomatic missions in other countries, freezing the foreign accounts of the Taliban leadership, restrictions on travel by senior Taliban officials, and ban on all international flights, except on humanitarian mission, to and from Afghanistan.

The Security Council will review the measures after a year. If the Taliban does not meet the demands on ending support to international terrorism and handing over of the Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, additional sanctions might be imposed.

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