US President Joe Biden on Sunday called the Taliban to release US Navy Veteran Mark Frerichs, who had been captured for two years. Biden said in Frerich’s statement could not be negotiated before the Taliban could expect consideration of aspiration for legitimacy.
Frerichs, Illinois native, helped with construction projects in Afghanistan when he was held captive. Biden convinced all Americans who were held hostage and were wrongly detained abroad that his government would continue to work firmly until every American was detained with their desire to return home.
“A civil engineer, he spent a decade of helping Afghans. He did not make a mistake,” Biden said in a statement.
The statement added, “Threatening the safety of Americans or innocent civilians is always unacceptable, and taking hostage is a certain acidity and cowardice. The Taliban must immediately release the sign before expecting consideration of aspiration for legitimacy. This cannot be negotiated.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that the US had submitted a case of Frerichs in each meeting with the Taliban.
“[W] E is clear that the legitimacy sought for Taliban is not possible to consider while they hold hostage US citizens. The release is one of our core priorities, cannot be negotiated. We will continue to send clear messages to Taliban leadership: Immediately and Safe Release mark and deny the practice of hostage, “said price.
The Sunni Pashtun group took control of Afghanistan in August last year but had not received recognition from the international community considering the history of human rights violations. Afghanistan faces a serious humanitarian crisis after the overthrowing of the government turned back and forth, exacerbated by the suspension of foreign assistance, freezing the assets of the Afghan government, and international sanctions against the Taliban.