Published: 19 October 2026
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader; Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the head of the group’s Supreme Court; and two ministers of the Taliban administration, Habibullah Agha and Wenda Mohammad Nadim.
The ICC judges stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that these four senior Taliban officials bear criminal responsibility for ordering, soliciting, or inducing the commission of the crime of persecution. According to the judges, this persecution was primarily gender-based and targeted women and girls, as well as individuals who opposed the Taliban’s policies.
The judges also stated that individuals perceived by the Taliban as “allies of women and girls” had been targeted on political grounds. According to the Court’s findings, the Taliban’s policies have resulted in serious violations of fundamental rights and freedoms and the rights of civilians, and have been associated with acts including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, and enforced disappearance.
The report emphasises that although some Taliban regulations and restrictions have been imposed on the entire population of Afghanistan, women and girls have been targeted specifically because of their gender.
The judges further noted that individuals perceived as opponents of Taliban policies had also been targeted, even in cases where their opposition was passive or where they had merely refrained from carrying out an action demanded by the Taliban. These individuals were regarded by the Taliban as political opponents.
According to the Court’s announcement, the alleged crimes under investigation began on 15 August 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, and continued until 20 June 2025.
The ICC Prosecutor submitted the initial applications for arrest warrants on 23 June 2025, and the judges issued the arrest warrants on 8 January 2026.
Human Rights Watch Warns of Escalating Restrictions
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has stated that, over the past year, the Taliban have further institutionalised gender-based persecution in Afghanistan by adopting new laws and issuing additional orders and decrees.
In a report published in connection with a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the organisation stated that the Taliban have systematically deprived women and girls of their fundamental rights and that the group’s actions have also undermined legal protections for women and girls.
Human Rights Watch cited the Taliban’s Criminal Procedure Code for Courts as one example of the group’s measures, stating that the regulation recognises only “excessive beating” as domestic violence against women.
According to the organisation, this means that victims of other forms of domestic violence have no effective avenue to have their cases examined and brought before the courts for judicial proceedings.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the International Criminal Court’s announcement, declaring that the Taliban do not recognise the Court.
In a post on his X account, Mujahid wrote that “the Taliban attach no value whatsoever to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for the leaders of this group, and the Taliban’s leaders have done nothing for which they should be arrested or punished by international courts.”
Respectfully,
Idris Arib
8 October 2026
Democratic People’s Publication