The Taliban on Friday released a British couple held in Afghanistan for more than seven months on undisclosed charges, an official said.

The case of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, aged 80 and 75, underlined the Western concerns over the actions of the Taliban since they overthrew the country’s NATO-backed government four years ago.

The couple had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and ran an educational institution in the country’s central province of Bamiyan.

The Reynolds’ family members repeatedly called for their release, saying they were being mistreated. The Taliban dismissed the abuse allegations. What prompted the couple’s detention was never revealed by the Taliban.

“Two British nationals named Peter and Barbara Reynolds, who had violated the laws of Afghanistan, were released from custody today following the judicial process,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on social media.

He said that the Taliban “does not view the matters of citizens from a political or transactional angle.”
The elderly couple were handed over to Britain’s special representative to Afghanistan, Richard Lindsay, Balhki added.

The UK foreign office said it was relieved over the couple’s release.
“The UK has worked intensively since their detention and has supported the family throughout,” Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in a statement.

“The State of Qatar played an essential role in this case, for which I am hugely grateful.”

The move by the Taliban is seen as part of a broader effort to get the regime international recognition, years after resuming power in 2021.

• DW