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Islamabad: Mark Berich, who served in the US Navy, worked as a civil engineer in Afghanistan for ten years. He was taken prisoner by the Taliban in 2020. Similarly, Haji Basheer alias Noorzai was arrested by the US government in 2005 for smuggling heroin worth several crores. In this case, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muthaki said, “Mark Berich was handed over to the US government. In his place, Haji Bashir was handed over to the Taliban. This exchange of hostages took place today (yesterday) at Kabul Airport,” he said.