Afghan Taliban foreign ministry condemns ICC arrest warrants for leaders

In a statement, the ministry said the warrants, which accused the two leaders of the persecution of women and girls, were "devoid of a fair legal foundation, characterised by double standards, and politically motivated".

The ICC prosecutor announced on Thursday that he was pursuing warrants for Taliban supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and for Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who has served as Afghanistan's chief justice since 2021.

Persecution has occurred across Afghanistan from at least Aug. 15, 2021 - the day Taliban forces captured the capital Kabul after a two-decade insurgency against the Western-backed government - to the present day, the prosecutor said.