THE HAGUE - The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Thursday he has sought arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of persecuting women and girls.

A statement from Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan's office said investigators had reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada, who has served as chief judge since 2021, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani "have committed crimes based on gender." Persecution is criminally responsible for crimes against humanity."

The statement said they were "criminally responsible for the persecution of Afghan girls and women... and those whom the Taliban considers to be allies of girls and women."

Prosecutors said persecution has been taking place across Afghanistan since at least August 15, 2021, the day Taliban forces captured the capital Kabul.

Since the Islamist group returned to power in 2021, it has suppressed women's rights, including restricting their schooling, work and general independence in daily life.

Taliban leaders had no immediate comment on the prosecutor's statement, which was welcomed by groups defending women's rights.

It will now be up to a panel of three ICC judges to rule on the prosecution request, which has no set deadline. Such procedures take an average of three months.

This is the first time that ICC prosecutors have publicly sought search warrants in an investigation into potential war crimes in Afghanistan that dates back to 2007 and has included crimes allegedly committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Khan said his office was demonstrating its commitment to accountability for gender-based crimes and that the Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law could not justify human rights violations or crimes.

"Afghan women and girls and the LGBTQI+ community are facing unprecedented, unjustified and ongoing persecution by the Taliban. Our actions demonstrate that the status quo for Afghan women and girls is unacceptable," the prosecutor said.

Zalmay Nishat, founder of the British charity Mosaic Afghanistan, said that if the ICC issued an arrest warrant, it would probably have little impact on Akhundzada, who rarely leaves Afghanistan.

"But in terms of the Taliban's international reputation, it basically means that their international legitimacy, if any, is completely undermined," he said.

Khan's move comes at a time when the court is facing an existential crisis. The tribunal was established in The Hague in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression.

President Donald Trump's administration is preparing to impose new economic sanctions as it issues an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Moscow fought back against the International Criminal Court's 2023 arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin by issuing its own arrest warrant for Khan.

Courts in The Hague were virtually empty despite a series of recent high-profile arrest warrants, where Khan is under investigation for alleged workplace sexual misconduct, which he denies.

The ICC has no police force and relies on its 125 member states to make arrests. But some European member states have expressed doubts about detaining Netanyahu, and this week Italy arrested an ICC suspect but failed to hand him over.