Taliban Holds Two American Prisoners, Discusses Exchange with US for Guantanamo Detainees
July 3 (Reuters) – The Taliban government has officially admitted to detaining two American citizens in Afghanistan and has disclosed that there has been communication with the United States regarding the exchange of prisoners whereby Afghans detained at Guantanamo are included in the conversation, said the Taliban spokesman on Wednesday.
Mr Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman, did not name the American prisoners. But it is possible to state that the Taliban arrested more than a dozen female employees of an international non-governmental organisation in September. Among them, there was an American woman. Also, there is another staff member of an aid organisation, Ryan Corbett, who has been detained since 2022.
Mujahid said this during a press conference in Kabul: ‘ We should be able to free our citizens in an exchange, as American citizens are important to them (the United States) as much as Afghans are important to us. ’
He further said that negotiations over prisoners’ exchange were conducted with the Americans during the United Nations-hosted dialogue in Qatar. Such talks involved officials from the United Nations, Taliban representatives, and special emissaries to Afghanistan and were completed on Monday.
“Two American citizens are incarcerated in Afghanistan,” Mujahid added that Afghan nationals are also incarcerated in U. S. detention centres, including the recently exposed prison in Guantanamo, Cuba. This comes after he had previous talks with them (the United States) regarding their release; Afghanistan’s conditions must be recognised, he continued.
Among those who were detained, there is an American woman; other members of the IAM organisation, which includes at least 18 employees, are accused of missionary activities of the Christian faith. The UN in June showed concern for the life of Corbett, stating that; “In his current state, Corbett’s life could be in danger”, followed by requesting the Taliban authorities to avail medical care for Corbett because his health was deteriorating continually.
Since August 2021, when the Taliban regained power, many foreigners have been detained on various charges. The conditions of these detainees have been noticed and criticised by different human rights groups, on repercussions of their handling and trials, from different governments and international organisations.
The fact of prisoner exchange can be considered a breakthrough in the complicated interaction between the Taliban movement and the USA, which opens up new opportunities for negotiations on other rather pressing topics, such as the delivery of humanitarian aid and recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political actor in Afghanistan. Though such negotiations appear to bear a lot of potential in achieving the benchmarks outlined above, their success depends on various, still uncharted factors involving the region’s politics and security systems.
Taliban’s willingness to engage in negotiation for the exchange of prisoners might indicate a desire to seek international recognition and force the U.S. and other countries to the negotiation table to concede to its demands. On the other hand, the US experiences a demand for the safe release of Americans detained in foreign countries, especially in countries with poor diplomatic relations with the United States.
During these talks, many focus on the American detainees still held captive in the Taliban’s custody and the consequences that this relationship has for the U. S. The result could impact the political maps of Afghanistan and the whole region in the case of an unfavourable outcome.
