The US Department of State has repeatedly stated that the detention of American citizens in Afghanistan is an obstacle to Washington's engagement with Kabul.

Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, said in a press briefing to reporters that US officials have consistently called for the unconditional release of American citizens in meetings with “Taliban” representatives.

“We continue to press, including in meetings with Taliban representatives, for the immediate and unconditional release of Americans detained in Afghanistan. Those detentions have been and continue to be a significant obstacle to positive engagement with the country."

The head of the general department of prisons in the country, Mohammad Yousuf Mestari, said that a number of foreign nationals are currently in prisons of the Islamic Emirate.

"These prisoners are with us for legal crimes from some neighboring countries but we do not have political prisoners. Of course, there are [political prisoners] at the level of Afghanistan with the Islamic Emirate and in other places,” Mestari added.

Political experts said that Kabul and Washington should resolve the existing challenges through diplomatic means.

"If the American side wants to engage with the Islamic Emirate, they should do so diplomatically and within the framework of mutual respect with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and accept that Afghanistan is an independent country and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan interacts with them in the light of its values and laws,” said Abdul Haq Hamad, a political expert.

"These problems can be resolved through a comprehensive discourse that should take place between Afghanistan and America,” Fazlur Rahman Orya, a political expert, said.

Earlier, the deputy head of the Office of the Prison Administration, Habibullah Badr, in an interview with TOLOnews said that nearly 25 foreign nationals with cases are in the prisons of the Islamic Emirate. Badr did not provide details on whether there were American citizens among them or not.