GHAZNI: Some 200 Taliban supporters rallied in central Afghanistan on Sunday against the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor`s request for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders.

The rally followed the announcement by the ICC on Thursday that chief prosecutor Karim Khan was seeking arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani over the persecution of women.The Taliban government has imposed a raft of restrictions on women and girls, which the United Nations has described as `gender apartheid`, since sweeping back to power in 2021.

Demonstrators in Ghazni city condemned Khan`s move, chanting slogans that included `Death to America` and `long live the Islamic Emirate` the Taliban authorities` name for their government.

`We have gathered here to show the West that their decision is cruel and rejected by Afghans,` said Ghazni resident Noorulhaq Omar. `It will never be accepted because the Afghan nation will sacrifice their life for their emir,` he said, referring to Akhundzada.

Hamidullah Nisar, Ghazni province`s head of the information and culture department, joined residents at the rally.

`We totally reject what the ICC has said against the leadership of the IslamicEmirate, and we want them to take back their words,` he said.

Most demonstrations have been suppressed in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, with the exception of those by the authorities` supporters.

Afghanistan`s Taliban government dismissed Khan`s arrest warrant requests on Friday as `politically motivated`. Rights groups and activists have praised the ICC move.

Allegations The Taliban leaders are accused of crimes against humanity on the grounds of genderbased persecution under the Rome Statute of the court, which sets out the duty of every State signatory to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.

`These applications recognise that Afghan women and girls as well as theLGBTQI+ community are facing an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban,` Mr. Khan said in a statement.

Since reclaiming power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have implemented a series of oppressive measures that have systematically stripped women of their rights, including barring them from employment, public spaces and education beyond the age of 12.

The ICC Prosecutor emphasised that these acts constitute severe deprivations of fundamental rights, including physical autonomy, freedom of expression and access to education rights protected under international law.

This marks the first time the ICC has issued arrest warrant applications concerning Afghan. Mr Khan said the filings are supported by diverse evidence, including expert testimony, forensic reports and numerous decrees issued by the de factoauthorities. The ICC`s Afghanistan team, under the supervision of Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan and Special Adviser on Gender and Discriminatory Crimes Lisa Davis, has played a critical role in investigatingthese allegations,the prosecutor continued.

Next steps The ICC`s Pre-Trial Chamber will now determine whether these applications for arrest warrants establish reasonable grounds to believe that the named individuals committed the alleged crimes.

`If the judges issue the warrants, my Office will work closely with the Registrar in all efforts to arrest the individuals,` said Mr Khan, also announcing that further applications against other senior Taliban leaders are forthcoming. `Afghan victims and survivors have suffered injustice for too long,` he stressed.-Agencies