„The U.S. government needs to get over its hang-ups on steps and process and meetings,“ Mark Frerichs‘ sister told Newsweek. „The Taliban have been clear about what they wanted since last summer and
President Joe Biden ’s administration is prepared to pardon an influential Afghan tribal leader, who has been sitting in a U.S. federal prison for 15 years, in exchange for the last American hostage abducted last year in Afghanistan. But Washington is insisting that the Taliban first provide proof of life for the U.S. hostage, a U.S. government official told Newsweek. Bashir Noorzai, a top figure in the Pashtun tribe that shares his surname, the same tribe to which elusive Taliban Supreme Commander Hibatullah Akhundzada belongs, was arrested in New York City on drug trafficking charges in April 2005 during a trip in which he sought to advance diplomacy as the U.S.-led war in his home country grew even more violent. Today, he’s serving a life sentence at a federal prison in New Hampshire. Mark Frerichs is a U.S. contractor who was abducted in late January 2020 by elements believed to be tied to the Haqqani network, a Taliban-aligned militia operating across the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Newsweek was the first to report on his kidnapping days later, and has made contact with his family and former U.S. officials regarding his case, as well as the prospect of an exchange of Noorzai for Frerichs. Now there appears to be movement. „We are eager to explore ways to bring Frerichs back,“ a U.S. government official who requested anonymity has told Newsweek. „But these explorations are predicated on receiving a recent proof of life. The bottom line is that any progress moving forward lies in receiving a proof of life.“ Such an arrangement is supported by Frerichs‘ sister, Charlene Cakora, who said that despite Noorzai’s reputation as an alleged drug kingpin, Frerichs‘ freedom was worth far more than the captivity of a man already behind bars for 16 years. „The Taliban clearly have wanted Noorzai for years, and I can tell you that our family wants Mark back,“ Cakora said in a statement sent to Newsweek. „While I don’t like the idea of letting a drug trafficker go, I can understand that the war is ending and they deserve to have him back the way we deserve to have Mark.
