In a move that indicates global consensus on recognizing ‘moderate’ Taliban, the United Nations Security Council last night removed five known leaders of Taliban from its sanctions list. The move comes two days ahead of a conference on Afghanistan in London

UNSC statement said five members of the ousted Taliban government who were on the blacklist can now travel freely and freeze on their assets have been lifted.

Several Afghan leaders including President Hamid Karzai have advocated that names Taliban members should be removed from the list. He was expected to raise this issue at a conference on Afghanistan in London tomorrow.

Diplomats at the the UN claim that those removed from the list were “moderate Taliban officials” with whom President Karzai could start a dialogue.

The former Taliban foreign minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil who was also taken off the list has demanded that the UN and the US to remove all the names on their blacklists. The other four ex-ministers removed from the UN list are Faiz Mohammad Faizan, Shams-US-Safa, Mohammad Musa, and Abdul Hakim.

President Karzai expects to gain support of the West this week in London conference to negotiate more with the ‘moderate’ Talibans. He claims there are “thousands and thousands and thousands” of moderate Taliban who needs to be reintegrated in the Afghan society.