A Taliban envoy on Monday cautioned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio against escalating tensions with threats of bounties on Afghan leaders.
Why It Matters
The warning came after Rubio suggested the U.S. would consider offering large rewards for the Taliban’s top figures in response to the continued detention of American nationals in Afghanistan.
What To Know
The exchange of prisoners last week, which saw the release of two U.S. citizens, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, was brokered under the Biden administration before it left office.
In return, the U.S. freed Khan Muhammad, a member of the militant group.
Despite the deal, two more Americans, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, remain in Taliban custody.
How Many American Nationals Remain in Afghan Custody?
The Taliban have not disclosed the total number of foreign nationals held by the regime.
The remarks quickly drew a response from Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s ambassador to Qatar, who asserted the Afghan government’s stance on resolving such issues peacefully through dialogue. Shaheen also delivered a pointed message to Rubio, warning that aggression would only escalate matters.
Who Is the Taliban’s Suhail Shaheen?
Shaheen, a key member of the Taliban’s negotiating team during the Doha peace talks, pointed out the Taliban’s long history of resisting foreign intervention, having fought U.S. and NATO forces for two decades before returning to power in August 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops.
The Taliban official also referred to the recent release of Canadian national David Lavery, who was freed from Afghan custody through mediation by Qatar, a country with strong ties to the Taliban.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. State Department and the Qatar Embassy in Washington D.C. for comment by email Monday morning.
The move marked a rare instance of diplomatic cooperation with the militant regime on such matters.
Earlier in the day, Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly confirmed that she had spoken with Lavery after his arrival in Qatar, where he was in “good spirits.”
Joly also expressed gratitude to Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, for facilitating Lavery’s release.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported. If this is true, we will have to immediately place a very big bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on (Osama) bin Laden.”
Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s ambassador to Qatar, said: “In the face of pressure and aggression, the jihad (struggle) of the Afghan nation in recent decades is a lesson that everyone should learn from.”
What Happens Now
The continuing negotiations surrounding the release of detained foreign nationals remain a sensitive and volatile issue between the Taliban and the international community. The fate of the remaining Americans in Taliban custody, along with the broader diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan’s new rulers, is likely to remain a point of contention in U.S.-Taliban relations.
This article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press
The post Taliban Warns Rubio Over Bounty Threat for Detained Americans appeared first on Newsweek.
