Key points
- High-profile American detainee still missing: US authorities
- Taliban seeks Guantanamo detainee’s release
- Further negotiations planned
ISLAMABAD: United States officials have agreed to a prisoner swap following a rare meeting with authorities in Kabul, according to the Taliban administration’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Adam Boehler, who served as the Trump administration’s special envoy for hostage response, and Zalmay Khalilzad, a former US special envoy for Afghanistan, held talks with Afghan 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,” read a statement from Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar’s office following the meeting.
No US confirmation
Washington has not yet issued an official statement on the meeting, and Khalilzad did not immediately respond to a call from the media seeking comment.
Mahmood Habibi, a naturalised US citizen and businessman formerly employed by a telecommunications firm in Kabul, is considered the highest-profile American detainee, according to US authorities. A reward of $5 million has been offered for information leading to his discovery, although the Taliban denies any involvement in his 2022 disappearance.
The Taliban is reportedly pushing for the release of Muhammad Rahim, the last Afghan national still held at Guantanamo Bay, who has been detained without charge since 2008, according to Al Jazeera.
Sign of goodwill
Another American, airline mechanic George Glezmann, was released after more than two years in custody during a March visit to Kabul by Boehler.
That agreement, which was mediated by Qatar, was described by the Taliban as a “humanitarian” gesture and a “sign of goodwill”.
Prior to that, in January 2025, the two parties carried out a prisoner exchange that saw US citizens Ryan Corbett and William Wallace McKenty freed in return for Khan Mohammad, an Afghan national serving two life sentences in the United States.
Both sides have also agreed to continue discussions concerning nationals imprisoned in each other’s countries, the statement added.
The Taliban administration, which assumed power in 2021 after two decades of US military involvement in Afghanistan, is not recognised by Washington.
