Afghanistan’s de-facto Taliban rulers said they have reached agreement with visiting US officials on an exchange of prisoners, although no details were given and Washington has not yet confirmed that a deal has been struck.
Following the September 13 meeting, the Taliban released photos of the meeting involving US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
“Adam Boehler, referring to the issue of detained citizens between Afghanistan and the United States, said that both countries will exchange prisoners,” Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar’s office said after the meeting.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not confirm that an exchange was imminent, saying only that Boehler had gone to Kabul to “explore what’s possible.”
“Our special envoy for people unlawfully detained has been having conversations for a while,” Rubio told reporters as he departed Washington for a trip to the Middle East.
“Obviously, it will be the president’s decision in terms of any trades or any exchanges, but we most certainly want any Americans or anyone who’s being unlawfully detained to be released. And so he went there to explore what that would look like,” Rubio said.
Taliban government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat wrote on X that “both sides emphasized that they will continue to discuss various existing and future issues in bilateral relations, especially those citizens who are imprisoned in both countries.”
The Taliban Foreign Ministry said in a statement that discussions centered on bilateral relations with the United States and the need to continue talks, particularly related to the issue of prisoner exchanges.
The statement did not lay out how many people are being held in each country, their identities, or the reasons for their detention.
US citizen Mahmood Habibi, 37, who led the Afghan Aviation Authority under the previous US-allied Afghan government, is one of the most prominent Americans believed to be detained in Afghanistan.
His status is uncertain since his arrest in August 2022, with the Taliban denying that they hold him. Habibi family members say the Taliban handed him over to the Al-Qaeda terror group, while the United States has offered a $5 million reward for his return.
Another American, airline mechanic George Glezmann, 66, was freed in March during a visit to Kabul by Boehler after more than two years in detention. He was the third American freed by the Taliban since Trump returned to the presidency in January.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the previous US special envoy to Afghanistan, accompanied Boehler to the Kabul meeting. He did not immediately comment.
Since the Taliban overthrew the US-backed government in August 2021, dozens of foreign nationals have been arrested by the de-facto authorities.
The Taliban rulers, beset by unrest, natural disasters, and rampant poverty, are seeking to improve relations with the global community, especially the United States, to solidify their rule.
Russia is the only country to officially recognize the Taliban government, which has widely been accused of human rights violations, particularly against women.
Afghanistan was hit by a major earthquake that struck the remote mountainous province of Kunar on August 31, killing more than 2,200 people. More than 3,600 were also injured in the tremor, which wiped out entire villages in the region.
