US Puts Taliban On Wrongful Detention List, Demands Release Of Americans

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.

UNICEF said in a post on X on Monday that it plans to reach around 1.3 million children with severe acute malnutrition during the current year.

The agency added that in 2025 it treated more than 610,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition with the support of its partners.

Earlier, the World Food Programme warned that cuts in foreign aid and rising tensions along the Pakistan border could leave about 200,000 more children in Afghanistan facing acute malnutrition this year.

The organisation said about 3.7 million Afghan children will require treatment for malnutrition in 2026.

Ahmad Massoud said the Taliban had previously triggered foreign intervention by sheltering Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida and were now responsible for renewed attacks by hosting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other militant groups.

However, he said opposition to the Taliban should not translate into support for bombing or foreign aggression.

Massoud made the remarks on Sunday, March 8, during an online event held to mark International Women’s Day.

He said the Taliban had turned Afghanistan into what he described as a place of suffering for its people and a haven for militant groups.

Massoud said Pakistan’s recent attacks had produced two types of reactions among Afghans. According to him, some people supported the strikes due to their resentment toward Taliban rule, while others opposed any foreign intervention in Afghanistan.

He said he supported a middle position between the two views and rejected foreign military attacks, arguing they would not bring meaningful results.

Massoud also said that no invasion anywhere in the world leads to freedom or dignity.

He added that while he opposed foreign military attacks on Afghanistan, he also rejected political engagement with the Taliban and said the solution for the region and the world was to listen to the Afghan people.

Fighting between Taliban forces and Pakistan has continued for more than 10 days.

The clashes began after the Taliban’s retaliatory attacks on Pakistani border posts.

Before those strikes, Pakistan carried out air attacks on targets in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Paktika and Nangarhar.

The Taliban called the strikes a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and claimed civilians were targeted.

Both sides say they have inflicted hundreds of casualties on each other, while international organisations have confirmed the deaths of dozens of Afghan civilians in the fighting.

Iran earlier suspended exports of food and agricultural products until further notice.

Hazrat Zaeem Agha, the Taliban commissioner at the Islam Qala crossing, told the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency that about 600 cargo trucks currently enter Iran through the crossing each day.

He said roughly 700 cargo trucks arrive daily from Iran, adding that commercial goods continue to move without disruption.

Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Herat, warned that traders who raise prices under the pretext of road closures in Iran would face legal action.

However, several Herat residents told Afghanistan International that the ongoing conflict between the Taliban and Pakistan, along with the war involving Iran, Israel and the United States, has led to rising food prices in the city.

Officials at the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment said that if the war in Iran continues, they will seek to expand Afghanistan’s trade relations with other countries to prevent possible food shortages.