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During a United Nations meeting in Qatar focused on Afghanistan, the Taliban and US officials held discussions about a potential prisoner swap involving two US detainees and Afghans held in the United States.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesman, confirmed that the topic of a prisoner release was brought up during his meeting with US officials in Doha. He said, “Afghanistan’s conditions must be met. We have our citizens who are imprisoned in the US and Guantanamo. We should free our prisoners in exchange for them. Just as their prisoners are important to America, Afghans are equally important to us.” Despite this, Mujahid did not provide further details about the Afghan detainees, including those held at Guantanamo Bay.

One of the detainees has been identified as Ryan Corbett, who was detained in August 2022. Corbett had lived in Afghanistan for years and was involved in humanitarian projects before being contained by the Taliban on his second trip back to the country. The identity of the second detainee remains undisclosed.

Following Mujahid’s statement, a State Department spokesperson said, “Special representative West pressed for the immediate and unconditional release of US citizens unjustly detained in Afghanistan.”

Despite the discussions and the Taliban’s attendance at the UN meeting, no significant progress was made regarding the removal of restrictions on Afghan women or any major concessions from the international community. Rosemary DiCarlo, UN undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said, “Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold or fully develop economically and socially if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population.”