In a telephone call with Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Afghanistan's National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib urged the army chief to remove the sanctions on Taliban leaders so they can freely participate in the peace process. Mohib had called Gen Bajwa to discuss the Afghan peace process and other issues.
On Aug 22, Pakistan imposed sanctions on Afghanistan Taliban leader Mullah Baradar and Haqqani Network in compliance with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
According to the notification at the time, “The federal government is pleased to order that the (UNSC) Resolution 2255 (2015) be fully implemented including in particular that individuals and entities listed … shall stand subjected to the asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo in accordance with the aforesaid resolutions.”
Meanwhile, the Afghan government has also released nearly 200 Taliban prisoners to spur the start of long-delayed peace negotiations. The fresh releases are from a group of 400 'hardcore' Taliban prisoners, the fate of which has stalled peace negotiations between the government and insurgent group to end nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan.