US delegation holds talks with Taliban in Kabul on detained citizens

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 14: Afghanistan's Taliban foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, met in Kabul on Saturday with a US delegation led by Adam Boehler, the special envoy for prisoner affairs, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.
The delegation also included Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for the Afghan peace process who helped negotiate the 2020 US-Taliban peace deal in Doha.
According to the Taliban statement, the talks focused on bilateral relations, the status of citizens, investment opportunities and other prospects in Afghanistan. Both sides also agreed to continue discussions regarding nationals imprisoned in each other's countries, the statement added.
One such case is that of Mahmood Habibi, a businessman with dual US-Afghan citizenship who previously worked for a telecommunications company in Kabul. He is believed to be detained in Afghanistan, though the Taliban denies holding him.
The Taliban has reportedly pressed for the release of Muhammad Rahim, the last Afghan national held at Guantanamo Bay, who had been detained without charge since 2008.
The US delegation's previous visit to Afghanistan took place in March 2025, and led to the release of a US citizen held in Afghanistan for more than two years. That deal, mediated by Qatar, was described by the Taliban as a "humanitarian" gesture and a "sign of goodwill." (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune