WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday designated Afghanistan as a ‘State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention’, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio accusing the Taliban of using hostage-taking as leverage against Washington.

Earlier, in February, Iran was also designated a ‘State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention’.

The announcement came as Washington sharpened its criticism of Taliban policies at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), where US Ambassador Mike Waltz questioned continued international engagement and funding provided to Afghanistan.

Rubio, in a statement issued on Monday evening, said: “Today, I am designating Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention.”

He warned Americans against travel to Afghanistan, saying: “It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals.”

He alleged that the Taliban “continue to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” calling such actions “despicable tactics” that “need to end”.

He also demanded the immediate release of US nationals in Afghan custody. “The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever,” he said.

At the UNSC, US Ambassador Mike Waltz stressed the need to “carefully evaluate the utility of international assistance and engagement in Afghanistan” in light of the “Taliban’s intransigence”.

He claimed that the US and others had invested considerable amounts of time and money to “improve Afghanistan’s future”, adding that the UNSC “must continue to demand responsible actions from the Taliban. The people of Afghanistan deserve no less.”

He noted that the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) “is the largest of any special political mission in the world, even after a reduction in its 2026 budget by 15 per cent”.

“This Council must consider carefully the funds we collectively provide for this mission’s budget when the mission’s female national staff are not even able to go into the office to work,” he said, referring to Taliban-imposed restrictions on women.

Citing a reported $1 billion humanitarian funding shortfall, Waltz added: “I would submit that perhaps the international community would be more willing to fill that shortfall if the Taliban were not excluding half of its own population from basic rights and responsibilities.”

There was no immediate response from the Taliban authorities to the US designation or the remarks at the UNSC.