The Taliban government in Afghanistan indicated Wednesday that it would consider releasing two U.S. prisoners in exchange for Afghans held in the United States.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesman, told reporters in Kabul that the idea of a prisoner release was discussed in his meeting with U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar this week, just as the two sides brought it up it in their previous meetings.
“Afghanistan’s conditions must be met. We have our citizens who are imprisoned in the U.S. and Guantanamo,” Mujahid stated. “We should free our prisoners in exchange for them. Just as their prisoners are important to America, Afghans are equally important to us,” he added.
The spokesman did not share any details about Afghan detainees, including those being held at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
Mujahid spoke in the Afghan capital shortly after returning from Doha, where he led a Taliban delegation at a rare two-day U.N.-hosted meeting with international envoys on Afghanistan, which ended on Monday.
U.S. officials also attended the U.N. conference in the Qatari capital.
