In a deal mediated by Qatar, the Taliban administration announced Tuesday that it had freed two American citizens from prison in exchange for an Afghan combatant detained in the United States.
Although discussions on the prisoner exchange were revealed last year, the exchange was made public following the handover of US President Joe Biden to Donald Trump, who took office on Monday.
The Afghan foreign ministry issued a statement announcing the repatriation of Afghan warrior Khan Mohammed, who had been imprisoned in the United States, in exchange for American citizens.
Mohammed was detained “almost two decades ago” in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, the ministry claimed, and has been serving a life sentence in California. When Mohammed returned to the province on Tuesday, a throng welcomed him and gave him garlands of flowers after a US court found him guilty of narco-terrorism.
He told reporters that he was “pleased” to be back with his family and thanked the Taliban officials for releasing him. Many innocent individuals are incarcerated; I ask that they all be freed so they can go back to their homes,” he stated.
Rafiullah Mohammed, his son, claimed that his father was innocent and that the family was seeking restitution. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban administration, informed reporters that two Americans had been freed but declined to elaborate on the exchange.
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