The Taliban government announced on Tuesday January 21 the release by the United States of an Afghan detainee in exchange for American prisoners, following “long discussions” facilitated by Qatar. This announcement comes the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump, with whom the Taliban authorities, recognized by no country in the world, have repeatedly said they want to maintain good relations, in the hope of “a new chapter”. The Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “an Afghan ‘fighter’, Khan Mohammed, imprisoned in America was released in exchange for American citizens and returned to the country.” He was serving a life sentence in California after being arrested “nearly two decades ago” in Nangarhar province, in eastern Afghanistan, according to the source. According to a memo from the US Department of Justice dating from 2009, Khan Mohammed, “a member of a Taliban cell”, was arrested in 2008 and convicted of “narcoterrorism”. The spokesperson for the Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, told Agence France-Presse that two American nationals had been released during this exchange which has not yet been commented on by Washington. American media for their part identified the released American prisoners as William McKenty and Ryan Corbett, the latter having been detained in Afghanistan since 2022. In a statement, Ryan Corbett’s family expressed their “immense gratitude”, thanking the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden as well as Donald Trump’s team. “Tangible progress in relations” Last July, the Taliban government discussed a dialogue on the exchange of two Americans detained in Afghanistan for Afghans imprisoned in the Guantanamo detention center. The meeting with American representatives was organized by the UN in Qatar. The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Tuesday “long discussions” which allowed the exchange of detainees, welcoming “a good example of resolving a problem through dialogue, especially thanks to the help of Qatar, a sister country having played an effective role. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover Dozens of foreigners have been arrested by the Taliban since their return to power in August 2021. At least one Afghan is imprisoned at Guantanamo: Mohammed Rahim, accused by the CIA of being a former associate of the former leader of Al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden. His family had called for his release in November 2023. “These measures from the United States are positive and help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” the Afghan ministry welcomed on Tuesday. After the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House in November, the Taliban authorities said they hoped for “tangible progress in relations”. In February 2020, the United States, then already chaired by the Republican, signed the Doha agreement in Qatar, which opened the way for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, after almost twenty years of presence. The following year, the Taliban seized the country after routing the forces of the Islamic Republic supported by the international community. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The historic agreement between Americans and the Taliban opens a new chapter with an uncertain outcome Read later The Republican Party of the United States has since continued to criticize the chaotic withdrawal of the Americans from Afghanistan in 2021, bloodied in particular by a suicide attack at Kabul airport which killed 13 American soldiers and dozens of Afghan civilians. Joe Biden was regularly targeted for having continued the withdrawal process without imposing conditions on the Taliban, such as a ceasefire between the latter and the government in Kabul, which was ultimately overthrown. One of the main bones of contention between the Taliban authorities and the international community remains the question of women’s rights in Afghanistan, where according to the UN the government today imposes “gender apartheid”. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Afghanistan: the Biden administration questions Donald Trump’s promises to the Taliban Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
Author : News7
Publish date : 2025-01-21 08:55:57
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