Taliban releases American in the midst of talking with us about ties

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Tripti Lahiri, The Wall Street Journal read 3 min read 29 Sept 2025, 05:29 PM released the US citizen Amir Amiri, left, with the US envoy for hostage Adam Boehler, in Green Sweater, the White House adviser Sebastian Gorka, in Red Tas, after the release of Amiri. (Handout via Reuters) Summary The liberation of Amir Amiri has come because the country is in broader economic and political discussions with the Trump administration. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban has released an American citizen of detention, a performance of goodwill by Kabul that comes when the country is in broader economic and political discussions with the Trump administration. The Taliban released Amir Amiri on Sunday, making him the fifth American released from Afghanistan this year. The discussions, led by the American envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, were mediated by Qatar. Qatar enjoys a close safety relationship with Washington and was an integral part of the release of detained Americans. The release can help support continuous discussions between Kabul and the US on a number of issues. Earlier this month, President Trump said the US was in talks with Afghanistan over the control of the air base in Bagram. The installation was the largest US base in Afghanistan during a 20-year war against the Taliban ending in 2021. The US withdrew from the country that year. Following Trump’s remarks on Bagram, a US official told The Wall Street Journal that the air base was part of a larger discussion with the Taliban government on ties relocation, as well as on economic and safety issues. The talks are led by Boehler, the official said. Afghanistan seeks access to billions of dollars of the central banking reserves that the US seized in 2021. Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, a Qatari diplomat and hostage negotiator, said on Sunday that Amiri’s release could contribute to a more positive atmosphere for addressing outstanding US and Afghanistan issues. The Taliban rejected the idea that it would accept American troops on its territory and also rejected the idea of ​​a US intelligence presence in Afghanistan. But in a social media post following Trump’s remarks, a senior official in the Foreign Affairs Ministry opened the possibility of other forms of collaboration. “Afghanistan and America must connect and can have economic and political relations on the basis of mutual respect and general benefits, without America having a military presence in any part of Afghanistan,” Jalaly wrote. The Taliban released two Americans in a prisoner exchange in January, followed by two more in March. Earlier this month, the Taliban released a British couple out of custody, also after Qatar mediation. Other US citizens are still being held in Afghanistan, including Mahmoud Habibi, an American of Afghan descent who disappeared in the country three years ago. The Taliban denied that he had held him. His family expressed the hope that the Trump administration could also secure the release of Habibi. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the Trump administration would pursue other Americans have been unfairly in Afghanistan. The US delegation arrived on Sunday and met with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi. Qatar released a photo in which Amiri appeared on a plane with Boehler and Trump’s terrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka. Former American envoy for peace talks in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said the hostage releases showed that the Taliban had read US signals correctly. “The Trump administration’s hard policy against the detention of US citizens abroad, on the one hand, and its efforts to bring communication with the Taliban, on the other hand, clearly played a role in this shift,” Khalilzad said in a post on X on Sunday. Write to Tripti Lahiri on [email protected], catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More topics #afghanistan #news #unitstate #afghan Taliban Read next story