An elderly British couple held in Afghanistan for nearly eight months have been freed. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Qatar on Friday for its “crucial role” in their release.
Starmer expressed gratitude for the “crucial role played by Qatar,” including Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, “in ensuring their freedom,” he stated.
Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conveyed Qatar’s gratitude for the cooperation from both the Afghan caretaker government and the UK in a statement to the Qatar News Agency (QNA).
Stay informed with the latest updates. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
He also highlighted Qatar’s “ongoing support for direct dialogue and its steadfast belief in multilateral cooperation to uphold human dignity and protect human rights,” as reported by QNA.
Taliban officials have not disclosed the reasons for the February arrest of Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbara, 76, as they returned home.
“We’ve been treated very well. We’re eager to see our children,” Barbara said, wearing a red headscarf, standing beside her bearded husband near a plane at Kabul airport.
“We look forward to returning to Afghanistan if possible. We are Afghan citizens,” she added.
The couple, married in Kabul in 1970, have lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, managing educational programs for women and children. They also obtained Afghan citizenship.
When the Taliban seized power in 2021, the couple stayed in Afghanistan despite the British embassy’s advice to leave.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi announced on social media that the couple was handed over to the UK’s special representative, Richard Lindsay.
“Two British nationals, Peter and Barbara Reynolds, who breached Afghan laws, were released today after the judicial process,” Balkhi stated.
The couple initially were held in maximum security, “then in underground cells without daylight, before being moved” to Kabul’s intelligence services, according to UN experts.
In July, independent UN human rights experts urged the Taliban to release them, warning of their “rapidly deteriorating” health, which “risks irreversible harm or death”.
Their family repeatedly voiced concerns about their health following their detention.
Hamish Falconer, the UK’s minister for the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, expressed relief that “their ordeal is over” in a statement.
He also advised against British citizens visiting Afghanistan, stressing that consular support is “very limited”.
Few embassies have reopened in Kabul after many were evacuated post-NATO’s withdrawal from the conflict with the Taliban.
Foreign ministry spokesman Balkhi stated that the government “views citizens’ matters not politically or transactionally,” emphasizing that “Afghans, wherever they are, deserve consular services”.
This follows a visit by Washington’s special envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler, to Kabul to discuss a potential prisoner exchange.
At least one American, Mahmood Habibi, remains detained in Afghanistan.
Scores of foreign nationals have been arrested since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, after the US military pullout.
