Pakistan(National Times)- The Taliban government said Tuesday they had released American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States, in a deal brokered by Qatar. Discussions about the prisoner exchange were confirmed last year, but the swap was announced after outgoing US president Joe Biden handed over to Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday. “An Afghan fighter Khan Mohammad imprisoned in America has been released in exchange for American citizens and returned to the country,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry said Mohammad had been serving a life sentence in the state of California after being arrested “almost two decades ago” in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. Asked by AFP, the foreign ministry declined to provide further details or the number of American prisoners. However, the family of Ryan Corbett, expressed “overwhelming gratitude” that he was coming home. “Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family said on their website. In July last year, the Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said two American prisoners were being held in custody in Afghanistan and that an exchange had been discussed with the United States. US media named the Americans as William McKenty and Corbett, the latter in Taliban custody since 2022. Biden came under heavy criticism for the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021, more than a year after Trump presided over a deal with the Taliban insurgents to end US and NATO involvement in the two-decade war.

‘New chapter’

After Trump’s election win in November, the Taliban government had said it hoped for a “new chapter” in ties with the United States. Taliban authorities have repeatedly said they want positive relations with every country since sweeping back to power in 2021. No state has officially recognised their government, with restrictions on women’s rights a key sticking point for many countries, including the United States. The Taliban government on Tuesday called the exchange “a good example of resolving issues through dialogue, expressing special gratitude for the effective role of the brotherly country of Qatar in this regard”. “The Islamic Emirate views positively those actions of the United States that contribute to the normalisation and expansion of relations between the two countries,” it added, using the Taliban authorities’ name for their government. Dozens of foreigners have been detained by the Taliban authorities since the group’s return to power. It is unclear how many Afghan citizens are in US custody. At least one Afghan prisoner remains in detention at the secretive US prison Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Muhammad Rahim, whose family called for his release in November 2023. In February last year, two former prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay until 2017 were welcomed home to Afghanistan, more than 20 years after they were arrested.