British couple held for months in Afghanistan arrive back in UK
LONDON—A British couple held in Afghanistan for more than seven months on undisclosed charges arrived in the UK on Saturday after being released by the Taliban.
Peter and Barbie Reynolds, aged 80 and 76, respectively, who were freed on Friday, were pictured smiling and looking to be in good health as they arrived at Heathrow Airport.
The couple had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and ran an education and training organization in the country’s central province of Bamiyan, choosing to remain in the country after the Taliban seized power.
Maximum security
They had been held for nearly eight months following their arrest as they traveled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in February. They had been held in a maximum security prison, and faced long periods of separation.
Their plight underlined the concerns of the West over the actions of the Taliban since they overthrew the country’s US-backed government in a 2021 lightning offensive.
Analysts say the move by the Taliban, which was facilitated by Qatar, could be part of a broader effort to gain international recognition.
Earlier this month, the Taliban said they had reached an agreement with US envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalize relations. The meeting came after the Taliban in March released US citizen George Glezmann, who was abducted while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist.
List of needs
It remains unclear what, if anything, the Taliban had been promised for the Reynolds’ release. However, Afghanistan’s list of needs is long.
The Western aid money that flowed into it after the 2001 US-led invasion has been severely cut as needs continue to mount, particularly after a magnitude 6 earthquake on Aug. 31. Its economy remains on shaky ground.
But Western nations remain hesitant to provide money to the Taliban government, citing their restrictions on women and personal freedoms.
Bagram
The release of the couple came a day after President Donald Trump revealed that he was working to reestablish a US presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, four years after America’s chaotic withdrawal from the country left the base in the Taliban’s hands.
Trump made the disclosure as he wrapped up a state visit to the UK. He tied up the return to Bagram to the need for the United States to counter its top rival, China.
“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said of the base in an aside to a question about ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
