Khan Mohammad was a member of the Taliban taken captive in Afghanistan during the US’s military engagement. He was jailed in 2008, external. Joe Biden commuted his sentence just before he left office.

The Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the US and “a good example of resolving issues through dialogue”.

“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalisation and development of relations between the two countries,” it said.

Since the Taliban took power in 2021, they have not been formally recognised by any government.

While the move is not likely to change relations between Kabul and Washington, more negotiations may follow – two other Americans are still in Afghanistan, external, believed to be George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi.

The Taliban are also seeking the release of an Afghan who is one of the few remaining prisoners at the US’s Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

At a rally in Washington on the eve of his inauguration, President Trump threatened to cut humanitarian aid to Afghanistan unless the Taliban returned the military equipment seized after the US pulled out in 2021.

A US Department of Defense report in 2022 estimated that military equipment worth $7bn had been left behind, external in Afghanistan after US forces withdrew.