Unknown Whether Taliban is Holding Americans Hostage at Airport

MENA: We discovered as of the morning of September 7, 2021, multiple planes are parked on an airstrip in Northern Afghanistan. According to NPR.org, more than 600 people, including at least 19 American citizens and two U.S. green card holders remain stuck on the runway at the Mazar-i-Sharif airport. Among the hundreds of stranded travelers were members of nongovernmental organizations, journalists and women at risk.

However, in a briefing on September 7, 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied reports that the Taliban had blocked Americans attempting to fly out of the northern Afghan city. He went on to say, “One of the main challenges around the charter flights attempting to depart was that some people lacked the valid travel documents which effectively blocked the departure of the entire group.”

Marina LeGree, executive director of Ascend – a non-profit that teaches young Afghan women leadership through mountaineering and other athletics – told NPR's Jackie Northam that several Afghans affiliated with her group remained stuck. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said the Taliban were effectively holding them hostage. 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of hostage is: “A person seized or held as security for the fulfillment of a condition.” While this is an unfolding story, so far it is not clear that the Taliban has asked for anything in return for the people on the planes. On the other hand there are reports that people have been waiting for days without permission to leave the country from the airport.