Taliban Leaders Listed by EU as Key Figures in Afghanistan

The European Union has taken a significant step to tighten its grip on key Taliban figures by listing five senior members of the militant group on its consolidated financial sanctions list. These individuals have been linked to terrorist activities in Afghanistan and are believed to be hiding in the country’s border regions or in neighboring Pakistan.

EU Sanctions Key Taliban Figures

The listed individuals hold various positions within the Taliban regime and have been involved in terrorist activities that threaten peace and stability in Afghanistan. The EU has frozen their assets and imposed a travel ban on them, citing their involvement in terrorist activities.

The Listed Individuals

Here are the five senior Taliban members listed by the EU:

• Abdul Manan Mohammad Ishak, also known as Maulavi:
  • Served as First Secretary of the Taliban Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Commercial Attaché at the embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • Born around 1940-41 in Afghanistan
  • Active in Khost, Paktia, and Paktika provinces
• Akhtar Mohammad Mansour Shah Mohammed, also known as Naib Imam:
  • Served as Minister of Civil Aviation and Transportation under the Taliban regime
  • Responsible for four southern provinces of Afghanistan
  • Born around 1960-66 in Band-e-Timur village, Maiwand District, Kandahar Province
• Faiz, known as Maulavi:
  • Headed the Information Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Taliban regime
  • Born around 1969 in Ghazni province
  • Active in the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Shahabuddin Delawar:
  • Served as Deputy Head of the High Court under the Taliban regime
  • Born in Logar Province in 1953 or 1957
  • Hiding in the Gulf region
• Sayed Esmatullah Asem Abdul Quddus, known as Maulavi:
  • Held positions as Deputy Minister of Preventing Vice and Propagating Virtue and Secretary-General of the Afghan Red Crescent Society under the Taliban regime
  • Born around 1967 in Qalayi Shaikh, Chaparhar District, Nangarhar province
  • Active in Afghanistan’s border regions
• Ehsanullah Sarfida Hesamuddin Akhundzada, also known as Maulavi:
  • Served as Deputy Minister of Security (Intelligence) under the Taliban regime
  • Born around 1962-63 in Khatak village, Gelan District, Ghazni Province
  • Hiding in the Gulf region

Aim of the Listing

The EU’s move aims to disrupt the ability of these Taliban leaders to finance and support their terrorist activities, which have caused immense suffering for the people of Afghanistan. By freezing their assets and imposing a travel ban, the EU hopes to prevent them from carrying out further attacks and destabilizing the region.