Twenty-two Republican senators have introduced a legislation in the Senate to impose sanctions on the Taliban in Afghanistan and on all the foreign governments that support the hardline Islamic group that seized power in Kabul. The ‘Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight and Accountability Act’ was introduced by Senator Jim Risch, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday.

The legislation also seeks a report from the Secretary of State about his assessment of the role of Pakistan in supporting the Taliban from 2001-2020; in the offensive that led to the toppling of the Government of Afghanistan and the looking into the Pakistan support for Taliban offensive against Panjshir Valley and Afghan resistance. It also seeks a presidential report in identification of areas where the US can strengthen diplomatic, economic and defence cooperation with India to address economic and security challenges posed by China, Russia and the Taliban in the region, and an assessment of how the changes to India’s security environment resulting from the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan will affect US’ engagement with India.