Kabul: Afghanistan‘s Taliban American engineer Mark released on Monday freerich In exchange for an Afghan tribal leader affiliated with the Taliban, who has been held by the United States on drug charges since 2005, the group’s acting foreign minister said.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki told a news conference in the city that Frerichs were exchanged with Bashir Noorzai at the airport in the capital, Kabul.
Noorzai was detained by the United States on suspicion of smuggling heroin worth more than $50 million into the United States and Europe.
Muttaki, citing the Taliban, said, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to solve problems by negotiating with everyone, including the United States.”
Frerichs is an engineer from Lombard, Illinois, and a US Navy veteran who spent a decade working in Afghanistan on development projects. He was kidnapped in February 2020.
There is no official representation of the United States in Afghanistan and US government officials elsewhere were not immediately available for comment.
After the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the United States has been pushing for Frerich’s release, as US-led foreign forces withdrew.
US officials have said their case will affect their views on the legitimacy of the Taliban-led government. No foreign government has formally recognized the Taliban, partly because of the group’s ban on the education of most girls.
Noorzai briefly addressed a news conference in a hotel in Kabul with Muttaki and the Taliban’s acting deputy prime ministers.
“I am proud to be in the capital of my country among my brothers,” he said.
The tribal leader had longstanding links with the Taliban.
Noorzai’s lawyer had denied her client was a drug dealer and argued that the charges should be dropped as US government officials assured her that she would not be arrested.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki told a news conference in the city that Frerichs were exchanged with Bashir Noorzai at the airport in the capital, Kabul.
Noorzai was detained by the United States on suspicion of smuggling heroin worth more than $50 million into the United States and Europe.
Muttaki, citing the Taliban, said, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to solve problems by negotiating with everyone, including the United States.”
Frerichs is an engineer from Lombard, Illinois, and a US Navy veteran who spent a decade working in Afghanistan on development projects. He was kidnapped in February 2020.
There is no official representation of the United States in Afghanistan and US government officials elsewhere were not immediately available for comment.
After the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the United States has been pushing for Frerich’s release, as US-led foreign forces withdrew.
US officials have said their case will affect their views on the legitimacy of the Taliban-led government. No foreign government has formally recognized the Taliban, partly because of the group’s ban on the education of most girls.
Noorzai briefly addressed a news conference in a hotel in Kabul with Muttaki and the Taliban’s acting deputy prime ministers.
“I am proud to be in the capital of my country among my brothers,” he said.
The tribal leader had longstanding links with the Taliban.
Noorzai’s lawyer had denied her client was a drug dealer and argued that the charges should be dropped as US government officials assured her that she would not be arrested.