Joe Biden Demands Taliban To Free US Contractor Held Hostage in Afghanistan; President Says Release Is Not Negotiable

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden urged the Taliban to "immediately release" the man thought to be the group's final American captive, stating that the Taliban's control in Afghanistan will not be recognized until he is released.

The news came on the two-year anniversary of the kidnapping of Mark Frerichs, a US Navy veteran who worked as a civil engineer in Afghanistan for a decade.

Biden demands Taliban free last US hostage

This year marks the conclusion of more than two decades of war in Afghanistan, which started with the US-led invasion in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and ended with the Taliban regaining control. Before being recognized by the international world, Washington has repeatedly informed the Taliban that they must earn legitimacy.

Prisoner exchange has been proposed by Taliban negotiators in the past, with Bashir Noorzai, an Afghan tribal chieftain and suspected Taliban associate imprisoned in the United States for importing heroin into the nation, being swapped for Frerichs.

The State Department and other U.S. officials were working for Frerichs' release as the U.S. finished its pullout last August, according to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, as per NDTV. The U.S. administration has been chastised by the family of Frerichs for not pressing harder to gain his release earlier.

He made a personal plea to Biden in a Washington Post opinion article last week which headlined, "Please bring my brother, the last American held captive in Afghanistan," which was written by his sister, Charlene Cakora. The State Department said in a statement that the United States had highlighted Frerich's issue in every meeting with the Taliban.

In a tweet, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "We urge on the Taliban to free him, and we will continue to strive to bring him home." Officials from the United States and the Taliban met for the first time since the military departure in October in Doha, Qatar, which sponsored the discussions that led to the troop drawdown.

According to the White House, the Qatari emir will visit the White House on Monday to discuss a variety of problems, including global energy security. In Kabul, Qatar represents U.S. interests, per VOA News.

Pakistan, Afghanistan to address border issues

Meanwhile, a local media stated that Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to create a high-level committee to resolve border concerns as National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf finished up a two-day visit to Kabul. This comes weeks after footage appeared on social media purporting to show the Taliban removing a section of the border barrier between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

On the 29th and 30th of January, Pakistan's National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf, who also heads the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC), paid a visit to Kabul. Yusuf called on Afghanistan's Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi and Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to "discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries" in an official statement posted on Twitter by Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul, Mansoor Khan.

The statement went on to say that the three key connectivity projects, the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, and the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, were also reaffirmed by both parties (CASA-1000).

The Taliban gained control of Kabul on August 15, and the country's economic, humanitarian, and security crises have worsened since then. Combined with the suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets, and international sanctions against the Taliban, the country has been thrust into a full-fledged economic catastrophe, as per Big News Network.