An elderly British couple detained in Afghanistan for nearly eight months were freed on Friday, September 19, after international pressure mounted over concerns for their health. Taliban officials confirmed the release of Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbara, 76, but offered no explanation for their arrest in February.
Standing beside her husband at Kabul airport, Barbara said, “We’ve been treated very well. We’re looking forward to seeing our children. We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens.”
The couple, who married in Kabul in 1970, have lived in Afghanistan for almost two decades, running educational programmes for women and children. Despite advice from the British government to leave when the Taliban regained power in 2021, they chose to remain and later became Afghan citizens.
Their release followed negotiations brokered by Qatar. A statement from Taliban spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said, “Two British nationals named Peter and Barbara Reynolds, who had violated the laws of Afghanistan, were released from custody today following the judicial process.” He confirmed they were handed over to Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy to Afghanistan.
Images broadcast on Sky News showed the couple preparing to depart Kabul for Doha alongside Lindsay, who said, “They are very relieved to be going home.”
The pair were initially held in a maximum-security facility and later kept in underground cells before being transferred to Kabul’s intelligence services, according to UN experts. In July, UN human rights officials warned their health was deteriorating rapidly, stating they risked “irreparable harm or even death” if not freed. Their family also made repeated appeals for their release.
Hamish Falconer, the UK’s minister for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said he was “relieved… their ordeal has come to an end.” He also warned that it remains against government advice for British nationals to travel to Afghanistan, where consular support is “extremely limited.”
A Qatari official confirmed that the release followed months of mediation efforts conducted in coordination with the British government. The development comes shortly after a visit to Kabul by Washington’s special envoy on hostages, Adam Boehler, who discussed possible prisoner exchanges. At least one US citizen is currently in Taliban custody.
Dozens of foreign nationals have been detained since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Russia remains the only country to have officially recognised the Taliban government, while most embassies remain closed in Kabul.
