The United Nations has removed five former Taliban officials from its terrorism blacklist, officials said Friday.
The men removed from the list include the Taliban's former representative at the UN Abdul Hakim Majahid Muhammad Awrang and three former vice ministers in Afghanistan's Taliban government that was overturned in 2001, dpa reported.
They were on a list that still contains 132 Taliban and al-Qaeda members subject to travel, financial and trade restrictions that is under review by a UN panel led by the Austria.
Also removed from the list was the former governor of Bamiyan province Muhammad Islam Mohammadi, who along with former vice interior minister Abdul Samad Khaksar, is deceased.
The names were removed at the request of the Afghan government, which sought to have nearly half of the names removed from the UN list. UN special representative in Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura allowed 10 names to be reviewed.
The US government has backed the Afghan-led effort to promote reconciliation with elements of the Taliban who renounce violence and al-Qaeda, and accept the Afghan constitution.
"We are supporting the Afghan-led process that paves the way and opens the door for important steps on the political front," said State Department spokesman PJ Crowley.
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