The son of an British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly eight months has said he is “overwhelmed” by their release.
Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, are due to fly to the UK on Saturday after being reunited with their daughter in Qatar.
Jonathan Reynolds told Radio 4’s Today programme that he was “ecstatic and massively grateful” to those who were involved in securing their release.
The Taliban, who detained the couple on their way home on 1 February, said the pair had broken Afghan laws and were released after judicial proceedings – but the Islamist group has never disclosed a reason for their detention.
There were emotional scenes on Friday as the couple’s daughter, Sarah Entwistle, met her parents as they stepped off the plane in Doha.
“We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens,” Barbie told Agence France-Presse at Kabul airport after Qatar-brokered negotiations for their release.
Their son Jonathan echoed those hopes, saying “their desire would be to carry on living there and to do the work they were doing”.
ReutersUK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the “vital role” played by Qatar in securing their release.
Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the past 18 years running a charitable training programme that had been approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group reclaimed power in 2021.
“They have not just a heart for the people of Afghanistan, but they have strategy as well, and the work they’ve been doing has been very fruitful and has a massively positive impact,” Jonathan told the .
He said a few weeks ago he had managed to share the results of “really encouraging” reports about their programmes with his parents over the phone.
He said Barbie’s initial reaction had been that they had “more work to do”.
“But how do you do that in a country where you’re not welcome,” Jonathan added.
ReutersTheir affection for Afghanistan was demonstrated by their decision to remain in Bamiyan province after the authoritarian regime seized control in August 2021, while many other Westerners left.
The couple’s release follows months of public lobbying by their family, who have described the harrowing conditions of their detention.
Jonathan said in July that his father had been suffering serious convulsions and his mother was “numb” from anaemia and malnutrition.
A Qatari official told the the couple were moved from Kabul’s central prison to a larger facility with better conditions during the final stage of negotiations over their release.
Taliban officials maintained they received adequate medical care during their detention and that their human rights were respected.
The couple were receiving medical checks in the Qatari capital, Doha, before leaving for London. They will arrive on a commercial flight on Saturday morning, AFP reports.
The UK does not recognise the Taliban government and closed its embassy in Kabul when the group returned to power.
The Foreign Office says support for British nationals in Afghanistan is therefore “severely limited” and advises against all travel to the country.