US Detainee Issue Can Be Resolved Through Dialogue, Says Taliban

Mike Waltz said during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday that the usefulness of international assistance and engagement in Afghanistan must be carefully evaluated.

He said the council should think carefully about the funding it collectively provides for the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan, while female staff of the agency are not even allowed to go to their offices.

Waltz also said the UNAMA receives the largest budget among all UN special political missions worldwide.

Afghanistan under Taliban rule is facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

According to the World Food Programme, more than 17 million Afghans face severe food shortages, including about 4.7 million people experiencing emergency levels of hunger.

Ataullah Zaid, spokesman for the Taliban governor of Balkh province, issued the threat on Tuesday after resharing a post by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on X. Writing directly to Rubio, Zaid said: "You once brought us to our knees here. If you wish to do so again, we are ready, and we will give you a devastating response."

He added: "Do not forget that we will kill you with your own weapons, the very weapons we have acquired."

The remarks came a day after the State Department placed Taliban-controlled Afghanistan on its list of governments that wrongfully detain American citizens, only the second entity to receive the designation, after the Islamic Republic of Iran.

At least three US nationals are currently believed to be held in Taliban custody. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who announced the designation on Monday, accused the Taliban of using hostage-taking as a tool of political leverage and said the tactic would not yield results against the current administration.

The fate of the detained Americans has been a central issue in Washington's dealings with the Taliban in recent months. US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler travelled to Kabul in late 2025 alongside former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad for talks with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on securing their release.

The US State Department told Afghanistan International that the Taliban must end what it described as hostage diplomacy or face consequences.

In a written message to the outlet, the office of the US president’s special envoy for hostage affairs warned that any foreign government illegally detaining American citizens would face repercussions.

On Monday, the United States designated the Taliban authorities as a jurisdiction responsible for wrongful detention. After Iran, the Taliban administration is the second authority placed on the list.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Taliban were using tactics resembling terrorism to extract political concessions and stressed that such methods would not succeed against the United States.

The Taliban have not yet responded to Washington’s decision.

According to US officials, at least three American citizens are currently being held in Taliban custody.

In recent months, the issue of detained Americans has been a key topic in talks between Washington and the Taliban. Adam Boehler and Zalmay Khalilzad travelled to Kabul in late 2025 and discussed their release with Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Adam Boehler, the US president’s special envoy for hostage affairs, made the remarks Monday after the US State Department placed Afghanistan on a list of countries accused of wrongfully detaining American citizens.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that Afghanistan had been added to the list of countries that unlawfully detain US nationals. He accused the Taliban of using what he described as terrorist tactics to gain political concessions and said such an approach would not succeed with the current US administration.

Boehler, who has visited Afghanistan at least twice and previously helped secure the release of several detained Americans, wrote on X that the United States would no longer tolerate any country holding its citizens hostage. He said three American citizens were currently being held in Afghanistan and called on the Taliban to release them.

He warned that testing the US president and senior officials, including Rubio, could lead to consequences for the Taliban authorities similar to those faced by Iran and Venezuela.

The warning reflects Washington’s strategy of applying pressure to secure the release of detained US citizens.

The Taliban have demanded the release of an Afghan prisoner in exchange for the Americans. The group has also called on the United States to reopen its embassy in Kabul and improve relations with the Taliban authorities.

Attaullah Tarar made the remarks Monday, after the United Nations confirmed the deaths of at least 56 Afghan civilians in Pakistani strikes.

In an interview with Arab News, Tarar said Pakistan’s actions were based on precise intelligence and aimed at dismantling what he described as terrorist infrastructure operating from Afghan territory.

He said civilian areas were not deliberately targeted and added that Pakistan’s operations were directed only at militant networks and their logistical support systems.

Tarar had earlier said that since the start of the attacks, 64 locations across Afghanistan had been targeted in airstrikes. He dismissed casualty figures released by Taliban authorities as fabricated and not credible.

Responding to reports of Afghan civilian casualties cited by the UN mission in Afghanistan, Tarar said the organisation largely relied on information provided by the Taliban administration.

Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 56 civilians, most of them women and children, had been killed and 129 others wounded in clashes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban.

Tarar warned that Pakistan would respond swiftly to any hostile action and would target militants and their supporters, including what he described as some Taliban military facilities.