After Qatari mediation, Taliban releases detained British couple held for months in Afghanistan

The couple, long-time residents of Bamiyan province where they ran an education and training organisation for nearly two decades, had chosen to stay in Afghanistan even after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. But their sudden detention last year left family members in the UK pleading for answers.

“God is good, as they say in Afghanistan,” Barbie said with relief as she prepared to leave Kabul airport.

Qatar mediated the release

Qatar, which has often acted as a mediator between the Taliban and Western governments, brokered the deal that secured their freedom. The Reynolds flew to Doha on Friday, where they reunited with their daughter Sarah Entwistle in an emotional moment on the tarmac.

Peter and Barbie looked cheerful and in good health as they stepped off the plane with smiles on their faces. Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, rushed to greet them, wrapping them both in a hug before holding her father’s hand and walking with him into the terminal.

Entwistle thanked both the British and Qatari governments, saying the family was overwhelmed with relief after her parents’ “incomprehensible detention.” She described the ordeal as a reminder of the “power of diplomacy, empathy, and international cooperation.”

“This experience has reminded us of the power of diplomacy, empathy and international cooperation,” she told journalists, according to AP.

Qatari Foreign Ministry official Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi praised both the UK and the Taliban for cooperating to secure the release. In London, Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the news, calling it “a huge relief” and thanking Qatar, including its emir, for playing a “vital role.”

“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.

For months, the Reynolds’ family in Britain had campaigned for their freedom, claiming they were being mistreated in custody. The Taliban denied abuse but never explained why the couple was detained. On Friday, Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said they had “violated Afghan law” but did not specify which one. 

He thanked Qatar for its “sincere efforts and mediation” and  said they were handed over to Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan, after a court hearing.

The couple’s release follows a July warning from UN human rights experts that their health was deteriorating and that they risked “irreparable harm or even death” if not freed. 

It also comes as the Taliban push to normalise ties abroad. Earlier this month, they announced an agreement with US envoys on a prisoner swap, months after freeing an American tourist. Back in March, they had also freed an American tourist, George Glezmann, who was kidnapped while traveling in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s economy continues to buckle, especially after the August 31 eartquake, but Western nations remain reluctant to funnel money directly to the Taliban, citing restrictions on women and civil rights.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan remains on the radar of former US president Donald Trump, who during a UK visit this week suggested he was looking to reestablish a US presence at Bagram Air Base. Taliban official Zakir Jalaly dismissed the idea outright.

(With inputs from AP)