Taliban supporters protest in Afghanistan against ICC arrest warrant calls

GHAZNI: Over 200 Taliban supporters staged a demonstration on Sunday in Afghanistan against the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for seeking arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders.

The rally was held after the ICC on Thursday said that chief prosecutor Karim Khan was requesting arrest warrants for Afghanistan Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani and Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada for their alleged persecution of women.

The Taliban government has imposed a slew of restrictions on women and girls, which the United Nations has described as "gender apartheid", since sweeping back to power in 2021.

Demonstrators in Ghazni city condemned Khan's move, chanting slogans that included "Death to America" and "long live the Islamic Emirate" — the Taliban authorities’ name for their government.

"We have gathered here to show the West that their decision is cruel and rejected by Afghans," said Ghazni resident Noorulhaq Omar.

"It will never be accepted because the Afghan nation will sacrifice their life for their emir," he said, referring to Akhundzada.

Hamidullah Nisar, Ghazni province’s head of the information and culture department, joined residents at the rally.

"We totally reject what the ICC has said against the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, and we want them to take back their words," he said.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government dismissed Khan’s arrest warrant requests on Friday as "politically motivated".

On the other hand, rights groups and activists have praised the ICC move.