The United States is reportedly reviewing the terrorist status of the Taliban movement amid recent negotiations that led to the release of detained Americans in Afghanistan.  This move reflects a broader trend as several countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, have already lifted or suspended the Taliban’s terrorist designation.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on May 21 during a congressional hearing that the Taliban’s designation as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO) is under reconsideration.  Currently, the Taliban is listed in the U.S. as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), which carries significant but somewhat less severe legal consequences than the FTO status.

Rubio highlighted recent progress in freeing American detainees in Afghanistan as a factor prompting the review.  “We have made some success in securing the release of certain detained Americans over the past weeks,” he said, adding that the U.S. hopes for increased Taliban cooperation in countering Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups (quote from RIA Novosti).

Earlier this year, American authorities announced the release of U.S. citizen George Glezmann, detained by Afghan intelligence since December 2022, following diplomatic negotiations with the Afghan authorities.  Additionally, two other American prisoners were freed in January as part of a prisoner exchange with the Taliban.

Changing global approach to the Taliban

Despite the Taliban’s ongoing restrictions on women’s rights and the persistent threats of terrorism and radical Islamism emanating from Afghanistan, some countries are shifting their stance toward the Taliban toward engagement rather than isolation.

Although no country officially recognizes the Taliban government, several have removed the movement from their lists of terrorist organizations in recent years.  Kazakhstan delisted the Taliban in 2023, Kyrgyzstan’s General Prosecutor’s Office excluded the group from its banned organizations registry in September 2024, and Russia suspended the ban on Taliban activities in April 2025.

Meanwhile, relations between Tajikistan and the Taliban government remain relatively chilly compared to other Central Asian states, like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which wasted little time in normalizing relations and cutting deals with the Islamic emirate

Tajikistan still considers the Taliban an extremist group and harbors Taliban opponents, while the Taliban regime continues to shelter members of a Tajik terrorist group, Jamaat Ansarullah, and flirt with leaders of the Tajik opposition.

Although Tajikistan's government is the only Central Asian government that has not improved relations with the Taliban, economic interests play their role.  Tajikistan exports electricity to Afghanistan and has reopened five marketplaces in border towns where goods are traded on both sides.

With major global players adjusting their policies toward the Taliban, Tajik experts speculate that the government in Dushanbe may also be considering closer ties or dialogue with the Taliban authorities.