US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Monday that Afghanistan has been labeled as a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” asking that Taliban authorities release two Americans and halt its “hostage diplomacy.
The move, termed as “regrettable” by Afghan authorities, comes just over a week after Iran was named the first country on Washington’s new “wrongful detention” blacklist. In September, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the blacklist, which is identical to the United States’ terrorism designations.
The Taliban continues to deploy terrorist tactics, including kidnapping people for ransom or to get policy concessions,” Rubio said in a statement. He stated that it was “not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unlawfully detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals.
In response, the Afghan foreign ministry denied that foreign nationals were held for ransom. Certain persons have been detained on charges of violating existing laws, and in many cases, they have been released in the usual course of legal proceedings,” it added in an English-language statement.
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