US-Taliban talks ‘stalled’ over Guantanamo prisoner – NYT

The issue has reportedly become a stumbling block in secret negotiations between Washington and Kabul

Secret talks between US and Afghan officials on a prisoner exchange have stalled after the Taliban insisted that a detainee held at Guantanamo Bay be included in any new deal, the New York Times has reported.

Afghanistan has freed at least five American prisoners over the past year, but negotiations have reached an impasse over the two still in custody, the paper wrote on Monday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the discussions.

According to the report, the Taliban is demanding the release of Muhammad Rahim, the last Afghan national held at Guantanamo Bay and an alleged associate of Osama bin Laden.

According to the NYT, Washington has accused Kabul of engaging in “hostage diplomacy” and has demanded information on the whereabouts of a third US citizen held by the Taliban. The group has rejected the accusation and insists that it has only two Americans in custody.

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A Senate Intelligence Committee report published in 2014 identified Rahim as an “Al-Qaeda facilitator” who was arrested in Pakistan in 2007 and later handed over to the CIA. Despite being subjected to “extensive use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques,” Rahim did not provide the spy agency with any intelligence, according to the report. His lawyer has maintained that the charges against his client are largely exaggerated and unsubstantiated by evidence.

Kabul had tried to secure his release during earlier talks with the administration of Joe Biden in its final months, the Wall Street Journal wrote last year.

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The Trump administration has also engaged with the Taliban, which ousted the Western-led government shortly after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The group now seeks official recognition from Washington and on the broader international stage.

Last September, Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to pressure the Afghan government to hand back control over Bagram Air Base, a Soviet-built facility expanded by the US during its nearly two decade occupation of Afghanistan.