United States officials have held talks with the authorities in Kabul over Americans held in Afghanistan, according to the Taliban administration’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s special envoy for hostage response, and Zalmay Khalilzad, a former US special envoy for Afghanistan, met with the Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
“Both parties emphasised the continuation of talks on various current and future issues in bilateral relations, particularly regarding citizens imprisoned in each other’s countries,” said a statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
There was no immediate statement from Washington regarding the meeting, and Khalilzad did not immediately respond to a phone call from Reuters when asked for comment.
Mahmood Habibi, a naturalised US citizen and businessman who previously worked for a telecommunications company in Kabul, is the highest-profile American detainee, according to Washington. 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 has 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”.
Before that, the two sides carried out a prisoner exchange in which US citizens Ryan Corbett and William Wallace McKenty were released in exchange for Khan Mohammad, an Afghan national serving two life sentences in the US.
Both sides also agreed to continue discussions regarding nationals imprisoned in each other’s countries, the statement added.
The Taliban administration, which took power in 2021 after 20 years of US military intervention in Afghanistan, is not recognised by Washington.
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