KABUL: Senior U.S. officials met Taliban leaders in Kabul on Saturday to push for the release of Americans detained in Afghanistan, but frustration in Washington over the Taliban’s slow response on human rights and hostages has dimmed prospects for improved ties or economic cooperation.
The delegation included Adam Boehler, former U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs under President Donald Trump, and Zalmay Khalilzad, who led peace talks with the Taliban before their 2021 return to power. They held discussions with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The Afghan foreign ministry confirmed both sides agreed to continue talks, “particularly regarding citizens imprisoned in each other’s countries.” However, U.S. officials have signaled that progress remains limited. A source familiar with U.S. thinking said delays in Taliban commitments on hostages and rights have become a serious barrier to advancing cooperation on critical minerals or easing strained relations.
At the center of the dispute is the case of Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized American citizen who disappeared in Kabul three years ago. Washington considers him wrongfully detained and a key obstacle to engagement. The Taliban, however, denies holding him and last year rejected a U.S. offer to exchange Habibi for Mohammad Rahim al-Afghani, the last Afghan prisoner at Guantanamo Bay.
Baradar, who led Taliban negotiators during the Doha peace talks, used the meeting to highlight Afghanistan’s investment opportunities in rare earth minerals. He also urged Washington to lift sanctions and “pursue engagement rather than confrontation” to support Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
Hostage diplomacy remains a political priority for Donald Trump, who has emphasized freeing Americans abroad. Just this year, Trump signed an executive order enabling Washington to designate countries as wrongful detainers and impose sanctions on them. Earlier in March, Boehler managed to secure the release of American tourist George Glezmann from Taliban custody, while in January, the U.S. freed an Afghan convicted of drug smuggling and terrorism in exchange for two Americans.
Despite such exchanges, Washington has not formally recognized the Taliban administration, which seized power after two decades of U.S. military intervention. Without meaningful progress on rights and detainees, U.S. officials suggest any breakthrough on minerals trade or broader ties remains unlikely.
