Afghan President Says Biden Didn't Press Him on Abducted American During Meeting
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Friday that his government would do what it can to help secure the release of an American abducted more than a year ago, though he said President Joe Biden didn’t press him on the matter during a White House meeting.
Mark Frerichs, a contractor from Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped in January 2020 from Kabul and is believed to be in the custody of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.
U.S. officials have said the issue of Frerichs’ captivity has been raised during negotiations with the Taliban, but they have not revealed anything about his suspected whereabouts or disclosed details of those discussions.
Asked whether Frerichs came up during a conversation earlier in the afternoon with Biden, Ghani said he did not.
But he said “we will do everything in our power” to help facilitate Frerichs’ release.
Ghani spoke to reporters soon after his meeting with Biden, who pledged a “sustained” partnership with Afghanistan even as the U.S. military withdraws from the country.
Frerichs’ advocates have expressed concern that the looming U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan could make it harder to get him home, leaving the U.S. without leverage to demand his release and without the intelligence needed to pinpoint his whereabouts.
Asked earlier Friday about Frerichs, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would continue his efforts to bring home detained Americans.
“We will have a diplomatic presence on the ground, we will continue to work closely with the government with security support, humanitarian support, and there needs to be continued political process, ongoing negotiations,” Psaki said.
“That will be part of the president’s message today when he meets with the leaders,” she added.
Roughly 650 U.S. troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal, which is set to be largely done in the next two weeks, U.S. officials told The Associated Press.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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