A group of Republican senators is preparing to introduce a bill to impose strict new sanctions on the Taliban in response to their human rights violations since reclaiming power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
According to Fox News, the bill requires the US president to sanction the Taliban for its terrorist activity, drug trafficking, and human rights abuses, including abuses against women. The bill would further block and prohibit all transactions in property held by the Taliban and invalidate all visas or other documentation permitting entry to the US.
The legislation titled, Taliban Sanction Act, will be introduced by Senator Jim Resch and a coalition of eighteen GOP senators. Sen. Resch told Fox News that Congress must act swiftly to pass the bill as the Taliban influences grows without a strong US presence in Afghanistan.
“Since the fall of Kabul in 2021, the Taliban has repressed Afghanistan’s women, minorities, and youth, diverted aid from Afghans in desperate need, taken hostages to achieve political gain, and allowed Afghanistan to once again become a safe haven for terrorists. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration’s response has failed to curtail Taliban abuses,” Risch told Fox News.
The US Senator, Risch added that after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the country has become a “pariah state” and the US policy should reflect this reality.
According to Fox News, the bill lists several demands that the Taliban must adhere to avoid further sanctions, including separating ties from all terrorist groups, allowing humanitarian groups to provide for vulnerable residents, allowing residents to leave its territory, and recognizing human rights, women rights and freedom of the press.
