Taliban frees US detainee

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Glezmann’s release represents a “positive and constructive step”.

He also thanked Qatar for its “instrumental” role in securing the release.

“Today, after two and a half years of captivity in Afghanistan, Delta Airlines mechanic George Glezmann is on his way to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra,” Rubio wrote.

“George joins American Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, who were released from Afghanistan on the night of President Donald Trump’s inauguration and returned home to their families.”

Corbett and McKenty, however, had been allowed to leave under a deal reached during the administration of US President Joe Biden, which was also brokered by Qatar.

The Taliban has previously described the release of US detainees as part of its global “normalisation” effort.

The group remains an international pariah since its lightning takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021: No country has officially recognised the Taliban government, although several countries continue to operate diplomatic facilities in the country.

Afghanistan’s takeover came as the Biden administration oversaw a withdrawal outlined by the first administration of President Trump.

The Republican leader negotiated with the Taliban in 2020 to end the war in Afghanistan, and he agreed to a 14-month deadline to withdraw US troops and allied forces.

The agreement was controversial for leaving out the Western-backed Afghan government, which was toppled amid the US’s chaotic exit from the country in 2021.

Unlike the detainee release deal reached under Biden with the Taliban, Glezmann’s departure from Taliban custody did not involve an exchange of prisoners held by the US, an official briefed on the matter told The Associated Press news agency.

The official described the move as a goodwill gesture.

The Trump administration has not articulated a clear policy for how it will approach dealings with the Taliban government during the president’s second term.

However, Trump has been a regular critic of how the Biden administration oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

A bomb attack at Kabul’s airport in the final days of the withdrawal killed at least 170 Afghan civilians seeking to flee the country, as well as 13 US soldiers.

Trump repeatedly referred to the “Abbey Gate” bombing as he campaigned for a second term in 2024, calling it “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country”.

The Republican leader has regularly maintained the withdrawal would have been more orderly under his watch, though he has curtailed foreign funding and refugee programmes that aid Afghans since returning to office.

For its part, the Biden administration had largely blamed the first Trump administration for leaving it ill-equipped to meet the withdrawal deadline.

Critics also point out that hundreds of thousands of Afghan citizens who worked for US forces and on US-backed projects still remain in Afghanistan, in danger of retribution from the Taliban.

Others live in precarious situations in refugee camps, including in neighbouring Pakistan.

An estimated 10,000 Afghans who had been approved to travel to the US found themselves stranded after Trump suspended the refugee programme in January.

Advocacy groups have urged the Trump administration to reverse course and ensure the refugees are transported to safety.

In his statement on Thursday, Rubio acknowledged other US citizens are still being held by the Taliban. US officials say they include Afghan American businessman Mahmood Habibi. The Taliban has denied holding Habibi.