U.N. To Treat al-Qaeda And Talibans Differently

The United States Security Council voted Unanimously to treat al-Qaeda and the Taliban separately when it comes to U.N. sanctions.

The council's adoption of two resolutions symbolically severs al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which were previously tied in the same U.N. sanctions regime, and recognises their different agendas.

While al-Qaeda is focused on worldwide jihad against the West and especially U.S. Taliban militants have focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan and have shown little interest in attacking targets abroad.

"Today, the council has taken an important step in strengthening one of its key tools in the fight against terrorism," Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said after the vote. "We have adopted a new sanctions regime targeting the insurgency in Afghanistan and a second targeting the terrorism threat posed by al-Qaeda."

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the new sanctions regime for Afghanistan "will serve as an important tool to promote reconciliation, while isolating extremists" and also "sends a clear message to the Taliban that there is a future for those who separate from al-Qaida." 

It is being widely reported that U.S. is in direct talks with Talibans.