Statement on Designations by the Afghanistan/Taliban Sanctions (1988) Committee

Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations 
U.S. Mission to the United Nations 

New York, NY

November 5, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The United States welcomes the November 5 decision by the UN Security Council's Afghanistan/Taliban Sanctions (1988) Committee to impose powerful worldwide sanctions on the Haqqani Network and its chief of suicide operations, Qari Zakir. Zakir is an operational commander who has been involved in many of the Haqqani Network’s highest-profile suicide attacks and has trained individuals to use small arms, heavy weapons and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Personnel selected from Zakir’s training program attacked coalition force bases Salerno and Chapman in 2010, the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in June 2011, which killed 11 civilians and two Afghan policemen, and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in September 2011, which killed 16 Afghans, including at least six children.

These sanctions oblige all UN member states to implement an asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo against Zakir and the Haqqani Network. In September 2012, the United States designated the Haqqani Network as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity. Today’s action by the Security Council expands upon these sanctions and confirms the international community’s resolve to end the Haqqani Network’s ability to execute violent attacks in Afghanistan. It also reflects the Security Council’s commitment to use and enforce sanctions against those who threaten peace in Afghanistan, in conjunction with a strong commitment to support Afghan-led peace and reconciliation.

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