“As a result of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s efforts, today, we are witnessing the release of Assadullah Haroon from Guantanamo prison and his reunion with his family years later,” Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Mujahid emphasized that “the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this as its duty to release Afghans detained in other countries and strives to ensure that no Afghan remains oppressed in any country of the world.”

“We are currently in contact with some of the countries where Afghans have been detained and efforts are underway to release them soon,” he noted.

He also thanked Qatar for “paving the ground in this regard”.

Asadullah Haroon Gul, commonly referred to as Haroon al-Afghani, is an Afghan-Pakistani citizen who has been held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba since 2007.

Haroon al-Afghani was transferred to the Guantanamo detention camps on June 22, 2007, and has been held there for more than 15 years. (ILKHA)