Muhammad Murad
On March 31, Russia’s Supreme Court announced that it had received a petition from Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov seeking to lift the ban on the Taliban. The Supreme Court stated that it would hold a hearing regarding this petition on April 17. According to a law adopted by Russia last year, the court has the authority to suspend the official terrorist designation of any organization.
The Russian government designated the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist organization in 2003, and since then, any contact with the group has been punishable under Russian law. However, since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, Russia has been growing closer to the group – a far cry from Moscow’s approach during the Taliban’s previous stint in power.
During the Taliban’s rule from 1996 to 2001, Russia, along with its long-time ally India, worked to end the group’s dominance in Afghanistan. To that end, Russia supported the Northern Alliance, also known as the United Front. This small anti-Taliban coalition was led by the veteran Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, an ethnic Tajik nicknamed the “Lion of Panjshir.” The Northern Alliance controlled parts of northeastern Afghanistan, particularly the areas in and around the Panjshir Valley.
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