US Charge d'Affaires Says Taliban Use Detainees as Leverage in Negotiations

Dan Brown, the US Charge d'Affaires at the US embassy for Afghanistan in Qatar, stated that the Taliban continue to use detainees as leverage in negotiations with the United States and other countries. In a post on X on Wednesday, Brown described the practice as "deplorable" and urged the international community to hold the Taliban accountable.

The two US citizens reportedly detained by the Taliban are Dennis Keill, a 64-year-old linguistics researcher and university professor held for a year, and Mahmoud Shah Habibi, whose fate has been unknown since his detention in Kabul in August 2022.

US Special Envoy for Hostages Adam Boler, from the Trump administration, warned that the Taliban must end all forms of hostage-taking, noting they currently hold two US citizens, which is unacceptable. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to Donald Trump, echoed this, saying President Trump explicitly stated the Taliban must stop kidnappings and hostage-taking or face consequences, and Washington will not rest until Keill and Habibi are freed.

At a UN Security Council session on extending sanctions against the Taliban, the US representative accused them of employing "hostage diplomacy" as an insurgent tactic, seeking the release of an al-Qaida member from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for detained Americans. Tami Bruce, deputy to the US permanent representative at the UN, noted the Taliban's demand contradicts their pledges on counterterrorism.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The New York Times that the fate of Mohammad Rahim, the last Afghan at Guantanamo, must be addressed in any US deal. The NYT reported the Taliban expressed readiness in secret talks to release the two US prisoners, though negotiations have not concluded. The Taliban deny holding Habibi, while US officials say he was detained by Taliban intelligence and tracked to one of their facilities.