US, Afghan officials agree to prisoner swap after high-level talks in Kabul

Kabul [Afghanistan], September 13 (ANI): United States and Afghanistan's Taliban officials have agreed to carry out a prisoner exchange, after a rare talk with the authorities in Kabul, Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Saturday.

The talks involved Adam Boehler, the Trump administration's special envoy for hostage response, and Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special envoy for Afghanistan, who met with Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Al Jazeera reported.

Following the meeting, the office of Afghanistan's deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar, released a statement saying, "Adam Boehler, referring to the issue of detained citizens between Afghanistan and the United States, said that both countries will exchange prisoners."

So far, Washington has not released any official statement confirming the agreement or the details of the exchange.

One of the most prominent American detainees believed to be held in Afghanistan is Mahmood Habibi, a naturalised US citizen and businessman. He previously worked in Kabul for a telecommunications company before he went missing in 2022.

The US is offering a USD5 million reward for information to find him, with the author Afghanies denying any involvement in his 2022 disappearance, as per Al Jazeera.

Afghanistan has reportedly pressed for the release of Muhammad Rahim, the last Afghan national held at Guantanamo Bay, who has been detained without charge since 2008.

Another American, airline mechanic George Glezmann, was freed after more than two years in detention during a March visit to Kabul by Boehler.

According to Al Jazeera, that deal, mediated by Qatar, was described by Afghanistan as a "humanitarian" gesture and a "sign of goodwill".

Before that, in January 2025, the two sides carried out a prisoner exchange in which US citizens Ryan Corbett and William Wallace McKenty were released in exchange for Khan Mohammad, an Afghan national serving two life sentences in the US.

Both sides also agreed to continue discussions regarding nationals imprisoned in each other's countries, the statement added. (ANI)

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