When they return to the UK, son of the British couple

The son of the British couple, detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, said he was “interrupted” by their release.

Peter Reynolds, 80 years old, and his wife Barbie, 76 years old, who have lived in Afghanistan for almost two decades, should fly to the UK on Saturday after reunification with his daughter in Qatar.

Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio 4 today that he is “ecstatic and massively grateful” to those who participated in their release.

The Taliban, who detained a couple on the way home on February 1, stated that the couple had violated Afghan laws and had been released after the court case – but the Islamist group never revealed the cause of their detention.

There were emotional scenes on Friday When the couple’s daughter, Sarah Entvistle, met her parents when they left the aircraft to Doha.

“We look forward to returning to Afghanistan when we can. We are citizens of Afghanistan,” Barbie Arena France Press said at Kabul Airport after Qatar talks.

Their son Jonathan repeated these hopes, saying: “They would want to continue living there and do the work they did.”

British Prime Minister Sir Kire Starmer praised the “life role” played by Qatar in ensuring their release.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and held the last 18 years, having conducted a charity program, which was approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group was restored in 2021.

“They have not just a heart for the people of Afghanistan, but they have both a strategy and the work they do was very fruitful and has a great positive impact,” Jonathan said in the BBC.

He said that a few weeks ago he managed to share the results of “truly encouraging” reports on his programs with his parents by phone.

He said that Barbie’s initial reaction was that they had “more work”.

“But how you do it in a country where you don’t welcome,” Jonathan added.

Their commitment to Afghanistan was demonstrated by their decision to remain in the Bamian province after the authoritarian regime seized control in August 2021 and many other Westerners left.

The release of the couple stems from the months of public lobbying of their family, which described the conditions of their detention.

In July, Jonathan said his father suffered serious convulsions and his mother “numb” of anemia and malnutrition.

The Qatar official said the BBC that the couple had been transferred from Kabul’s central prison to a larger object with the best conditions during the last stage of their release.

Taliban representatives claimed that they received proper medical care during the detention and that their human rights were respected.

Before leaving for London, the couple received medical checks in the capital of Qatar, Doha. They will arrive on a commercial flight on Saturday morning, AFP reports.

The UK does not recognize the Taliban government and closed the embassy in Kabul when the group returned to power.

The foreign service states that the support of British citizens in Afghanistan is thus “strongly limited” and advises against all trips to the country.