KABUL: Washington’s special envoy Adam Boehler made a rare visit on Saturday to Kabul, where he said the United States would move forward with a prisoner exchange, according to the Taliban government.

“Adam Boehler, referring to the issue of detained citizens between Afghanistan and the United States, said that both countries will exchange prisoners,” deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar’s office said after their meeting.

At least one US citizen, Mahmood Habibi, is held in Afghanistan. The United States is offering a $5 milli­on reward for information to find him, with the Taliban authorities denying any involvement in his 2022 disappearance. Another Ame­rican, airline mechanic George Glez­mann, was freed after more than two years in detention during a March visit to Kabul by Boehler. The US official, accompanied by Wash­i­n­g­t­o­n’s former envoy to Kabul, Zalmay Kha­l­i­lzad, also discussed detainees during a meeting with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

“Both sides emphasised that they will continue to discuss various existing and future issues in bilateral relations, especially those citizens who are imprisoned in both countries,” government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat wrote on X.

Dozens of foreign nationals have been arrested since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of the US military. This week, Moscow announced the release of a Russian ethnologist who had been held for almost two months.

“He had been detained in Afghanistan since July, accused of several offences... and was released by the Afghan authorities at the request of the Russian side, given the friendly relations” with Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said. Russia is the only country to officially recognise the Taliban government.

In January, two Americans were freed in exchange for an Afghan fighter, Khan Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism in the United States.

The Taliban government says that it wants to have good relations with other countries, notably the United States despite the 20-year war against US-led forces.

The foreign minister called again on Saturday for a “return to normal relations”, saying there were no “irresolvable problems in bilateral relations”.

Several countries, including Pakistan, China, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran, have kept their embassies open since 2021.

Future ties

Both sides will continue talks in future, “particularly regarding citizens imprisoned in each others countries”, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

The US State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Khalilzad, who led peace negotiatio­ns with the Taliban before their 2021 ta­­keover of Afghanistan, did not reply to a phone call seeking comment.

A source familiar with the Trump administrations thinking said there was frustration in Washington over the Taliban’s slow process of living up to its international commitments on rights and hostages, which had dimmed prospects for a deal on critical minerals or improving broader relations.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2025