ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The IOC on Saturday suspended Afghanistan's Olympic Committee on grounds that it can no longer function under the Taliban regime in Kabul.
Francois Carrard, director general of the International Olympic Committee, said another organization with headquarters in Kabul, under Taliban rule, claims it is recognized as a national Olympic committee.The old committee, "does not control the sport anymore," Carrard said. "It's practically disbanded. Its president is in exile."
The Taliban-run committee does not meet IOC requirements for recognition, he said. Among other things, the committee bans women from competing in sports.
Carrard said the suspension did not mean the IOC had withdrawn its recognition of Afghanistan. He said the IOC would try to find a formula to help any Afghan athletes compete in next year's Sydney Olympics.
The Taliban, or the students of Islam, are Sunni Muslims and mostly Pashtuns -- Afghanistan's majority ethnic group. They rule 90 percent of the country, including Kabul, and are battling the opposition alliance in a bid to capture the remaining parts of Afghanistan. The Taliban took over Kabul in September 1996.