The requested warrants target Haibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive Kandahar-based leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group’s chief justice.

Afghanistan's Taliban government said on Friday an arrest warrant sought by the International Criminal Court for its leaders was "politically motivated". It comes a day after the ICC chief prosecutor said he was seeking warrants against senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan over the persecution of women a crime against humanity.