Sun Mar 23 06:49:52 UTC 2025: ## US Lifts Bounties on Top Taliban Figures, Signaling Potential for Improved Relations

**Kabul, Afghanistan –** In a significant development, the United States has lifted the bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister and head of the notorious Haqqani network. This move, announced Sunday, March 23, 2025, comes as a potential indicator of improving relations between the US and the Taliban.

The State Department’s Rewards for Justice website no longer lists Haqqani, along with his brothers Abdul Aziz Haqqani and Yahya Haqqani, as targets for financial rewards. While the FBI website still carries a wanted poster for Sirajuddin Haqqani, the removal from the State Department’s list signifies a major shift in US policy.

The Haqqani network, responsible for numerous deadly attacks against the former Afghan government and Western targets, including the 2008 Serena Hotel attack that killed six people, including a US citizen, is known for its use of suicide bombings and roadside bombs.

Taliban officials have hailed the decision as a step towards normalization of relations. A Foreign Ministry official linked the bounty removals to the recent release of a US prisoner by the Taliban, suggesting both sides are seeking to move beyond the wartime phase. The Taliban’s recent establishment of control over its embassy in Norway further supports this narrative.

While China has been the most prominent country to engage with the Taliban government, other countries including Qatar have acted as mediators. The US has also engaged in direct meetings with Taliban envoys.

However, the Taliban’s ongoing restrictions on women and girls continue to draw widespread international condemnation and contribute to the group’s international isolation. The contrasting treatment of Haqqani, who has previously voiced criticism of the Taliban’s leadership, and the reclusive Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who faces potential arrest by the International Criminal Court for persecution of women, highlights the complexities of the situation. The long-term implications of this shift in US policy remain to be seen.

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