Taliban Confirms Imprisonment of 16 Foreign Citizens in Afghanistan

Taliban officials on Saturday confirmed that 16 foreign citizens, including five women, are currently imprisoned in the group’s prisons in Afghanistan.

However, the Taliban has not provided details about the identity of these people and the charges against them.

According to earlier reports, American and British citizens are among the imprisoned foreigners in Afghanistan.

The release of American prisoners from Taliban prisons had been one of the topics that Thomas West and Rina Amiri, the US envoys for Afghanistan affairs, discussed with Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi during a recent meeting in Doha.

During this meeting, the US representatives demanded "immediate and unconditional" release of American citizens from Taliban prisons.

It is not clear as to how many American citizens are currently imprisoned in Taliban prisons, however, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had earlier confirmed that about 175 US citizens remain in Afghanistan, some of whom entered Afghanistan after the fall of the government in August 2021.

On the other hand, the Daily Mail had also reported that three British citizens had been detained by the Taliban.