ISLAMABAD — Taliban leaders searched their ranks, including the much-feared Haqqani network, and on Sunday told The Associated Press they are not holding Mark R. Frerichs, a Navy veteran turned contractor who was disappeared in Afghanistan in late January.
A Taliban official familiar with the talks with the United States says “formally and informally” the Taliban have notified U.S. officials they are not holding Frerichs.
Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who negotiated a peace deal with the Taliban signed in February to allow America and NATO countries to withdraw their troops and end decades of war, asked for Frierchs’ release during his meetings this week in the Middle Eastern State of Qatar where the Taliban maintain a political office.
