On Sept. 13, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler and former senior diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Motaqi in Kabul.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted about the meeting on social media, proclaiming that the assembly discussed “ways to develop bilateral relations between the two countries, issues concerning citizens, and investment opportunities … in Afghanistan.” They also spoke about “followers who are imprisoned in one or another country.”
CHINA AND PAKISTAN BOLSTER TALIBAN BUSINESS LINKS
Boehler’s trip to Kabul follows a Sept. 5 executive order in which President Donald Trump stated he would designate any country that wrongfully detains American citizens as “a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention.” The executive order allows the State Department to impose sanctions, apply inadmissibility, restrict financial assistance, and place travel restrictions for United States citizens seeking to visit any designated country.
Sources indicate there are four Americans currently in Taliban custody, the most well-known of whom is Mahmood Habibi. Habibi was arrested on Aug. 10, 2022, by the Taliban’s feared General Directorate of Intelligence on suspicion that Habibi and 30 of his Asia Consultancy Group coworkers were involved in the U.S. drone strike on former al Qaeda senior leader Ayman al Zawahiri in July 2022. The Taliban refuse to admit they hold Habibi in custody.
The U.S. still holds al Qaeda senior aide Mohammad Rahim in Guantanamo Bay. The Taliban have requested his return, as well as those of two other Afghan nationals, during previous hostage exchange negotiations.
Late on Sept. 13, outlets around the world reported that the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Boehler agreed to a prisoner exchange. No further details were released, and the White House has not confirmed the creation of any agreement.
On Sept. 17, Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Afghan Embassy in Qatar, did not respond to questions about whether a deal had been reached.
The State Department did not respond to questions about whether Boehler met with Motaqi to discuss Trump’s executive order, or whether the U.S. was prepared to designate Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention should American detainees not be released.
U.S. policy toward Afghanistan does require examination. Absent the return of all American prisoners, the State Department should designate Afghanistan a sponsor of wrongful detentions and utilize all the tools available to protect American citizens.
Making stronger travel restrictions would be an intelligent maneuver, given that George Glezmann, who was released from Taliban custody in March, was a tourist in Afghanistan when he was arrested in December 2022. It would also be a darkly hypocritical move. In May, the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Afghans was partially based on a supposed increase in tourism in Afghanistan.
While it examines restrictions on travel for Americans, the U.S. government ought to examine news of reprisals emanating from Afghanistan and reassess its rationale for ending TPS.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ insights on the contents of discussions between Motaqi, Boehler, and Khalilzad will raise alarm bells for wary and weary analysts. The Taliban entity said the group talked about “restor[ing] relations” that had been determined during “previous negotiations in Doha.”
This is likely a reference to the failed 2020 Doha Agreement, negotiated by Khalilzad. The agreement requires the Taliban to prevent international terrorists from using Afghanistan as a haven. While the Taliban leadership has made promises to multiple countries that they will not allow Afghanistan to become a launching pad for terrorist operations, the United Nations Monitoring Team found in July that the Taliban “continued to maintain a permissive environment for a range of terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida and its affiliates.” Any assurances regarding terrorism inside Afghanistan ought not to be believed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ final assertion is the most concerning. Per Taliban officials, “the head of the American delegation added that his country respects the freedom of choice of nations and does not want anything to be imposed on Afghans.”
This mirrors language the Taliban have previously used when arguing that their treatment of women is an internal matter and not subject to worldwide debate. If the U.S. were to kowtow to the Taliban’s system of gender apartheid, it would be a despicable moral failure. The State Department did not respond to questions about its stance on the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women.
AFGHAN ALLIES CONTINUE TO BE BETRAYED TO THE TALIBAN
It is unclear whether another small news development could be linked to current discussions between the U.S. and Taliban leadership. On Sept. 12, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services noted on X that an “Afghan alien” in U.S. immigration proceedings had been found to have an active arrest warrant for murder overseas. The Afghan was placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE did not respond to questions about whether the individual was wanted by the Taliban. The State Department did not respond to whether the incident was related to meetings between Kabul and Washington.
Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance contributor to Fox News and the host of The Afghanistan Project.