Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's ambassador to Qatar, called on the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to withdraw the warning about more rewards on Taliban leaders.
Shaheen warned, "Everyone should learn from the jihad of the Afghan nation in the face of pressure and aggression in recent decades."
The warning came after the Secretary of State of US President Donald Trump announced that he would offer a much larger reward to Taliban leaders if reports that the Taliban are holding more American citizens than those set for Osama bin Laden, are true.
In response to this threat, Shaheen said that the policy of the Taliban government is to resolve issues peacefully through dialogue. He also warned that the Afghan nation's jihad in the face of pressures and aggressions in recent decades is a lesson to be learned.
This reaction came after two American citizens were exchanged for a Taliban member on the last day of the Biden administration.
However, two other Americans, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, remain in Taliban custody.
After Donald Trump came to power, a Canadian citizen was also released from the Taliban's prison.
The Canadian Foreign Minister on Sunday announced the release of Canadian veteran David Lavery from Taliban custody with the mediation of Qatar. Without providing details or how he was released, she wrote on the social media platform X that she had spoken to Lavery and that he had arrived in Qatar.
Suhail Shaheen said that the release of the Canadian citizen from Afghan prisons was achieved through the mediation of the "friendly country of Qatar" and positive interactions with the Taliban.
Recalling the release of the Canadian citizen, Shaheen tried to encourage the new US secretary of state to engage with the group.
The new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, wrote on social media platform X on Saturday, January 25, that it has been reported that the Taliban have taken more American citizens hostage than has been announced so far.
"If this is true, we should immediately put a very large bounty on the heads of senior Taliban leaders, perhaps even more than we had set for Osama bin Laden," Marco Rubio said.
The exact number of US citizens in Taliban prisons has not yet been announced.
