KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban have expressed readiness to engage in a prisoner exchange with the United States but claim that Washington has yet to take any actionable steps, according to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.
Mujahid, speaking to Amu TV, confirmed that discussions regarding a potential swap are ongoing but have not yielded any concrete outcomes. “We have proposed the release of Afghan prisoners held at Guantánamo in exchange for American detainees in Afghanistan, but the U.S. has not taken any practical steps,” Mujahid said.
Negotiations, which have been underway for six months, center on the release of three Americans: George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett, and Mahmood Shah Habibi, who have been detained by the Taliban since 2022.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration has considered a proposal to free Mohammad Rahim, a former aide to Osama bin Laden and a detainee at Guantánamo Bay, in exchange for the three Americans. The report has reignited concerns over the Taliban’s ties to Al Qaeda, with analysts suggesting that the group’s willingness to negotiate over a high-profile figure like Rahim underscores their enduring connections to extremist networks.
Mujahid, however, downplayed these claims, reiterating that the Taliban remain prepared for an exchange under mutually agreed terms.
“This is a bilateral program, and clarity has been provided to the U.S.,” Mujahid said. “The Islamic Emirate is ready for a prisoner swap under its conditions, but no action has been taken by the Americans so far.”
The potential deal has drawn criticism from various quarters. Mike Waltz, a Trump nominee for national security advisor, recently met with the family of one of the detainees and warned that former President Donald Trump would not show leniency toward groups or nations holding American citizens hostage.
“President Trump will not deal kindly with any group or country that takes American citizens hostage,” Waltz said. “We will do everything we can to help these families and prevent such actions in the future.”
Meanwhile, Anna Corbett, the wife of Ryan Corbett, described her recent phone call with President Biden as “disheartening.”
“He expressed a lot of empathy,” she said. “But I walked away with the impression that Ryan wouldn’t be coming home, and that’s been deeply painful for me.”
Observers suggest the Taliban may be delaying any agreement with the Biden administration in hopes of leveraging the detainees for political advantage if Trump returns to the White House.
“The Taliban are trying to use this prisoner exchange to establish diplomatic ties with Trump,” said Akhtar Mohammad Rasikh, an expert in international relations. “They may present the release of these prisoners as a goodwill gesture to strengthen relations with Trump upon his return to power.”
The situation remains complicated by conflicting narratives. The Taliban deny detaining Mahmood Shah Habibi, one of the three Americans in question, while his family has claimed otherwise. In September 2023, Habibi’s relatives told Amu TV that the Taliban had handed him over to Al Qaeda, a claim that the Taliban have rejected.
As negotiations remain stalled, the fate of the three American detainees underscores the broader challenges in U.S.-Taliban relations, marked by mistrust, geopolitical maneuvering, and enduring concerns about extremist ties.
