Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, said Tuesday that Thomas West, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, pressed the Islamic Emirate delegation at the Doha meeting for the release of two American citizens held in an Afghanistan prison.

“During these meetings, Special Rep West pressed for the immediate and unconditional release of US citizens unjustly detained in Afghanistan, noting that these detentions impede progress in the Taliban’s (IEA) own desire for international recognition. US officials continue to press for their release continuously and at every opportunity,” he said.

Patel further elaborated that both West and Special Envoy Rina Amiri met directly with IEA representatives during the Doha 3 meetings to address the matter.

“So to widen the aperture a little bit, Special Representative Tom West and Special Envoy Amiri met directly with Taliban (IEA) representatives during the Doha 3 meetings,” he added.

Previously, two senior US national security officials told NBC News that two American citizens are currently imprisoned by the IEA.

Claudia Tenney, a US Congress member, stated earlier that one of the detainees Ryan Corbett has been detained in Afghanistan without any charges since August 20, 2022.

Meanwhile, speaking in a press conference on Wednesday in Kabul Zabiullah Mujahid, who led the IEA’s delegation to Doha said that they had a short conversation with the American representatives and discussed the release of Afghan prisoners from American prisons, especially those imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.

“In the conversation with the American representative, there was a discussion about the two American prisoners in Afghanistan, and we also discussed about the Afghan prisoners who are imprisoned by the Americans in Guantanamo bay, and just as they want the release of their prisoners and it is important for them, the release of Afghan prisoners is also important for us,” said Mujahid.

Although the Islamic Emirate has good relations with the neighboring countries and the region, its relations with the West, especially the United States, are not very good, and the Islamic Emirate considers the United States to be the biggest obstacle to its global legitimacy, the IEA has said.

The United Nations spokesperson for the secretary-general Stéphane Dujarric has downplayed the absence of many special envoys at their meeting with Afghan civil society representatives in Doha on Tuesday.

Dujarric said the UN is not in a position to tell country representatives which meeting to attend.

This comes after the UN Under-Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo met separately with civil society members on Tuesday after the two-day special envoys meeting on Afghanistan in Doha wrapped up Monday.

Afghan women and civil society representatives had been barred from the formal two-day meeting, which included a delegation from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

Dujarric also stated the third Doha meeting had not been an intra-Afghan meeting.

The exclusion of women and civil society representatives from the formal meeting had become a topic of debate over the past few days with critics lashing out at the UN for not having demanded clear and measurable steps toward the restoration and protection of women’s rights as a crucial initial step toward engagement.

The Diplomat reports that instead, UN leadership has shown it is prepared to treat the fundamental human rights of half of Afghanistan’s population as a mere afterthought.

Dujarric meanwhile said that each special envoy could talk about human rights, women’s rights and the issue of drugs.

He added that DiCarlo and Roza Otunbayeva, head of UNAMA, had raised the issue of women in the formal meeting and in their previous meetings in Kabul with the Islamic Emirate.

Dujarric emphasized that the issue of women and human rights is something that the United Nations deals with every day and is at the top of all the discussions of this organization.

On Tuesday, DiCarlo said at a press conference that there “really is a need to build trust on all sides”.

She said it was important to have dialogue “that’s built on honesty”.

“It’s got to be based on principles, those of the UN Charter, and various human rights treaties that Afghanistan is a party to.”

She also stated: “Human rights and especially the rights of women and girls , and inclusion of all members of society will continue to be an integral part of our discussions.”

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Pakistan’s Minister of Defense Khawaja Asif has said Islamabad will continue to launch attacks against Afghanistan as part of a new military operation aimed at countering terrorism.

In an interview with BBC, Asif said Pakistan was targeting groups which Pakistan accuses of carrying out attacks on security forces and civilians, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.

Islamabad has in the past accused Afghanistan of harboring groups such as TTP. However, the ruling Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly said it will not allow any group to threaten the security of another country from Afghanistan.

The IEA has also described the strikes as violations of its sovereignty.

“It’s correct that we have been carrying out operations in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do so. We won’t serve them with cake and pastries. If attacked, we’ll attack back,” Asif told BBC.

In addition he said Pakistan did not forewarn the IEA of impending strikes. “This would eliminate the element of surprise. Why should we tell them, ‘get ready, we are coming’?”

The IEA meanwhile responded by saying the statement was “irresponsible”, BBC reported.

Asif went on to say the IEA has been reluctant to take action against the TTP, despite Islamabad’s requests.

This comes after Pakistan’s recent announcement of a renewed military crackdown to curb violence and attacks in the country.

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