ICC prosecutor seeks arrest of Taliban leaders

The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor on Thursday said he was seeking arrest warrants against senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan over the persecution of women, a crime against humanity.

Karim Khan said in a statement that there were reasonable grounds to suspect that Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani "bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds".

Khan said that Afghan women and girls, as well as the LGBTQ community, were facing "An unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban."

"Our action signals that the status quo for women and girls in Afghanistan is not acceptable," added Khan.

ICC judges will now consider Khan's application before deciding whether to issue an arrest warrant - a process that could take weeks or even months.

The court, based in The Hague, was set up to rule on the world's worst crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It has no police force of its own and relies on its 125 member states to carry out its arrest warrants - with mixed results. In theory, this means that anyone subject to an ICC arrest warrant cannot travel to a member state for fear of being detained.

Khan warned he would soon be seeking additional applications for other Taliban officials. The prosecutor noted other crimes against humanity were being committed as well as persecution.

"Perceived resistance or opposition to the Taliban was, and is, brutally repressed through the commission of crimes including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts," he said.