Taliban release British couple held for months in Afghanistan

The Taliban released on Friday a British couple held in Afghanistan for more than seven months on undisclosed charges, likely part of a wider effort to get their government recognised internationally years after taking power.

The case of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, aged 80 and 76, underlined the concerns of the West over the actions of the Taliban since they overthrew the country’s US-backed government in a 2021 lightning offensive. The Reynolds lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and ran an education and training organisation in the country’s central province of Bamiyan, choosing to remain in the country after the Taliban seized power.

Qatar, which mediated talks between the US and the Taliban before the American withdrawal, helped in releasing the Reynolds.

The couple left Afghanistan on Friday.

“God is good, as they say in Afghanistan,” Barbie Reynolds said after she arrived at Kabul International Airport to fly out of the country.

Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, Qatar’s minister of state at the Foreign Ministry, thanked the United Kingdom and Afghanistan’s interim Taliban government “for the fruitful cooperation” in freeing the Reynolds.

The Reynolds’ family members in the UK repeatedly called for the couple’s release, saying they were being mistreated and held on undisclosed charges. While the Taliban rejected the abuse allegations, they have never explained what prompted their detention.

“This is a moment of immense joy for our family, and we are deeply thankful to everyone who played a role in securing their release,” the family said in a statement after their release, mentioning Qatar and the British governments.

“This experience has reminded us of the power of diplomacy, empathy, and international co-operation. While the road to recovery will be long as our parents regain their health and spend time with their family, today is a day of tremendous joy and relief.”

A spokesperson at the Taliban government’s Foreign Ministry, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said the couple “violated Afghan law” and were released from prison on Friday after a court hearing, according to a statement he posted on X. His statement did not say what law the couple were alleged to have broken.

Balkhi thanked Qatar for its “sincere efforts and mediation” regarding the couple who, he said, were handed over to Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the couple’s release, saying he knew “this long-awaited news will come as a huge relief to them and their family.

“I want to pay tribute to the vital role played by Qatar, including the emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, in securing their freedom,” Starmer said in a statement.

“We’ve been treated very well. We’re looking forward to seeing our children,” said Barbie, in a red headscarf, standing next to her bearded husband, near a plane on the tarmac at Kabul airport.

“We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens,” she added.

In July, United Nations human rights experts warned the couple’s physical and mental health was deteriorating rapidly and that they were at risk of irreparable harm or even death.

Earlier this month, the Taliban said they had reached an agreement with US envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalise relations. The meeting came after the Taliban in March released US citizen George Glezmann, who was abducted while travelling through Afghanistan as a tourist.

It remains unclear what, if anything, the Taliban had been promised for the Reynolds to be released. However, Afghanistan’s list of needs is long.

The Western aid money that flowed into it after the 2001 US-led invasion has been severely cut as needs continue to mount, particularly after a magnitude 6 quake on Aug.31. Its economy remains on shaky ground.

But Western nations remain hesitant to provide money to the Taliban government, citing their restrictions on women and clamping down on personal freedoms.

Agencies