KABUL: The Taliban released a crucial ally in exchange for the release of an American navy veteran who had been held for more than two years, according to Afghanistan's foreign minister.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the city's foreign minister, claimed at a press conference that Mark Frerichs had been turned up to the US and Haji Bashar had been handed over to the country at the airport in Kabul.
Mark Frerichs, who was kidnapped in 2020, was exchanged for Bashar Noorzai, a warlord and Taliban associate who is presently serving a 17-year term in the United States for transporting heroin, according to Afghanistan's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi.
According to Muttaqi, who was addressing to media at the airport in Kabul today, Haji Bashar was surrendered to the US while Mark Frerichs was given to us.
He added that Frerichs was transferred to a US delegation and that the exchange took place "after protracted talks."
The former member of the US Navy was working as a civil engineer on building projects in Afghanistan when he was abducted, according to the US State Department.
Noorzai did not hold an official position inside the Taliban, according to government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, but she "offered tremendous assistance, including weapons," as the hardline outfit evolved in the 1990s.
