In the western province of Farah, an Afghan Army helicopter crashed, killing 25 people on board, according to Mohammed Naseer Mehri, a spokesman for the governor there. Among the dead were senior officials, including members of the provincial council and security commanders. Although the Taliban claimed they had targeted the helicopter, Mr. Mehri said there was no enemy action involved in the incident.

Despite some suggestions that the return of the older generation Taliban at a time when the new leadership had just strengthened its grip largely through battlefield gains might cause insecurities, field commanders were adamant it would have no such effect.

“These people can play a positive role in politics, and they are deeply respected by the leadership,” said Mullah Shirin Hameedi, a Taliban commander in the south who once served as chief of security to the group’s founding leader. “If the leadership had fears from them, they would not be allowed into politics. We are all committed to our mission, whether old or new.”

Borhan Osman, the senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group, said it was not clear how deep the American role in both the release of Mullah Baradar and expanded freedom for the so-called Guantánamo Five was. But he said both could be seen as a result of recent momentum toward talks among both the Americans and Taliban, along with some improved cooperation from Pakistan.

“For a long time, there have been questions among the Taliban — that the five were released from Guantánamo but then their freedom was restricted in Doha,” Mr. Osman said, referring to Qatar’s capital. “Some viewed their transfer to Qatar as no big victory. Their return to the scene, in whatever capacity, might ease those concerns.”

Mr. Osman said that internal conversations among the Taliban in recent months suggested they wanted to strengthen their negotiating team in Qatar, and “injecting the five was the most natural and rational way” to bolster the team.