New Delhi: American President Donald Trump seems to be fierce about America First. They claim and do anything for America and American citizens. Its hallmark has been seen once again. The American government has threatened the Taliban government of Afghanistan. Washington has clearly said that ‘hostage diplomacy’ will no longer be tolerated. Taking a big decision on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially declared Afghanistan as a ‘wrongfully detaining country’. America alleges that the Taliban is adopting a strategy to exert pressure by wrongfully detaining foreign citizens and especially Americans. Along with this step, America has also demanded the Taliban to immediately release all American citizens.

Demand for release of American citizens

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Taliban is increasingly using methods that are similar to terrorist tactics. He alleged that kidnapping people, keeping them in captivity and demanding political or economic benefits in return has become the Taliban’s strategy. For this reason, America has declared Afghanistan as a country that keeps people wrongly detained.

America has declared Afghanistan a ‘country of wrongful detention’. (file photo)

• Rubio specifically named two American citizens, Dennis Coyle and Mahmoud Habibi, and demanded their immediate release. Let us tell you that Mahmood Habibi is an Afghan-American businessman and has previously been the Director of Civil Aviation of Afghanistan. He was arrested in Kabul in August 2022. The US State Department has also announced a reward of 5 million dollars for information leading to the safe return of Habibie.
• Dennis Coyle was detained in January 2025. He is an academic from Colorado and has worked in Afghanistan for nearly two decades. The US administration says that the Taliban has not yet given satisfactory answers in these matters. This is the reason why America resorted to this drastic step.

What does it mean to be declared a ‘country that promotes unfair detention’?

This is a new diplomatic status created by America. Under this, those countries are included in the list which wrongly detain foreign citizens and use them as a form of political pressure. This list, like the list of countries supporting terrorism, is considered a diplomatic method of creating pressure.

Why did America make this allegation on Afghanistan?

America says that the Taliban government detains foreign citizens and uses them as a ‘bargaining tool’. That is, it talks about their release in exchange for some policy or concession. America calls it ‘hostage diplomacy’.

Will this worsen US-Afghanistan relations?

This decision may further increase the tension between the two countries. Taliban is already trying to get international recognition. In such a situation, this step of America can further weaken its diplomatic position and increase international pressure.