- The State Council “did not immediately” comment.
- A few days ago, the Taliban released a U.S. citizen.
- Last week, U.S. officials held “direct negotiations” with the Taliban.
Kabul: A spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Saturday that the United States has canceled a $10 million reward to arrest Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leading Taliban leader.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI still lists the rewards on its website, saying Sirajuddin is “believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks on U.S. and Afghan Union forces.”
The Taliban released a U.S. citizen after a direct dialogue between U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Taliban officials, and more than two years later, a development in Kabul.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement Thursday confirming Glezmann’s release.
The meeting in Kabul on Thursday marked the highest direct talks between the United States and the Taliban since President Donald Trump came to power in January.
According to a statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Boll met with the Taliban government’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutach.
“At this meeting, discussions were made on Afghan-U.S. bilateral relations, the release of prisoners and the provision of consular services to the United States for Afghans,” the statement said.
The HAQQANI network was designated by the United States for multiple strikes against foreign and Afghan forces during the 20-year war in Afghanistan and was designated as terrorist clothing by the United States.
The FBI also hopes Sirajuddin raises an inquiry, with the U.S. government offering a $10 million reward for the information that led to his arrest.
He was the son of jihadist leader Jalauddin Haqqani, who fought the former Soviet Union in the 1980s. Jalauddin later joined the Taliban and served as minister in the former government.
