Meanwhile, Charlene Cakora thanked the administration for securing the release of his brother amid “some folks arguing against the deal that brought Mark home,” Cakora said in a statement. “[B]ut President Biden did what was right. He saved the life of an innocent American veteran.”
Cakora continued: “I am so happy to hear that my brother is safe and on his way home to us. Our family has prayed for this each day of the more than 31 months he has been a hostage. We never gave up hope that he would survive and come home safely to us.”
A Druglord Released, Now What?
In exchange for the Navy veteran’s freedom was the release of a Taliban member who was also a known drug lord. Will his release pose a threat to the Americans?
No, it won’t—at least not in the country’s drug trade.
The release of Noorzai would not “materially” pose any risk. Furthermore, according to Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan inmate held “no official position in the Taliban.” However, since the movement’s inception in the 1990s, he has “provided strong support, including weapons.”
#Islamic #Emirate foreign minister honors release of a member after at least 18 years during a ceremony in Kabul, #Afghanistan, on September 19, 2022. The #US released Bashir Noorzai in a prisoner exchange for Mark Frerichs, an #American engineer outside of Afghanistan. #AMA pic.twitter.com/fIE7cO6t8n
— Afghan Multimedia Agency (@AgencyAfghan) September 20, 2022
During the earlier days of the negotiations, the administration had claimed that it “does not see any equivalency” between the release of a 17-year captive Noorzai and Frerichs. But after consulting experts across the US government, the administration pushed through with the prisoner exchange.
Noorzai’s release makes him the second Afghan inmate released recently, following Assadullah Haroon. After being accused of working for al-Qaeda, the latter was imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for 15 years. Before his arrest in 2006, Haroon worked as a honey trader, and his release was not contingent on a deal with the Taliban.
Does the Taliban Hold More Americans?
Most likely. But officials won’t confirm how many still are trapped in the confines of the Taliban.
According to another senior administration official, the US would continue making necessary dialogue with the Taliban while simultaneously asserting to end hostage-taking if they are to gain recognition by the international community.
“In terms of what this means for our broader engagement with the Taliban, we will continue to make clear that taking hostages—that’s the activity of terrorist and criminal groups. And if the Taliban is as interested as they say they are in normal relations with the international community, then that practice must resolutely end,” a senior official said.
Last month, the Taliban reportedly kidnapped American journalist and independent filmmaker Ivor Shearer and Afghan producer Faizullah Faizbakhsh while filming in Kabul’s Sherpur district—where a US drone strike killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri earlier in August.
Two journalists are still out of contact after being detained and blindfolded for filming on the main Sherpur road in Kabul yesterday.
American Ivor Shearer and his Afghan colleague.
They had all accreditation to work as journalists in Afghanistan
— Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) August 18, 2022
During the press briefing after Frerichs release, senior administration officials told reporters that they were aware of the matter, “but I don’t have more for you on that right now.”
Nevertheless, it is good to know Mark Frerichs will be reunited with his family after two years. To the Navy veteran, welcome home!
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