United States President Joe Biden called on Sunday for the release of American hostage Mark Frerichs ahead of the two-year anniversary of his kidnapping if the Taliban wishes to be recognized as Afghanistan's legitimate government.
Frerichs, a civil engineer and contractor from Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped in Kabul a month before the U.S. troop withdrawal agreement was signed in February 2020 and transferred to the Haqqani network, a brutal Taliban faction accused of carrying out some of the war's most lethal attacks.
"Tomorrow marks two years since U.S. Navy veteran Mark Frerichs was kidnapped in Afghanistan. He spent a decade as a civil engineer assisting the Afghan people. He has committed no wrongdoing. And yet the Taliban has held him captive for two years," Biden said in a statement.
Endangering the safety of Americans or any innocent civilians is "always unacceptable," Biden said in a statement, adding that hostage-taking is "a particularly cruel and cowardly act."
The statement comes as Afghanistan grapples with a perplexing humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of the United States' August withdrawal. The Taliban quickly seized control of a large portion of the country, and foreign aid was largely halted, putting the lives of millions of Afghans at risk of starvation or freezing to death.
Biden withdrew American troops from Afghanistan in August, sparking outrage from Republicans and his own Democrats, as well as foreign allies, and denting his approval ratings.
Frerichs' family has chastised the U.S. government for failing to press for his release more aggressively.
His sister, Charlene Cakora, made a personal plea to Biden last week in a Washington Post opinion piece titled, "President Biden, please bring home my brother, the last American hostage in Afghanistan."
Currently, the U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Frerichs's location, recovery, and return.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden's call, saying, "We call on the Taliban to release him. We will continue to work to reunite him with his family."
US and Taliban officials met for the first time since October's troop withdrawal in Doha, Qatar, which hosted the talks that resulted in the troop pullout.
Qatar's emir was scheduled to visit the White House on Monday to discuss a range of issues, including global energy security, according to the White House last week. Qatar represents the interests of the United States in Kabul.
