UK urged to help elderly British couple detained by Taliban

LONDON: A British couple in their 70s who ran education programmes in Afghanistan have been detained by the Taliban administration, their daughter has said, urging the British government to “do everything” possible to secure their release.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were detained by the Taliban’s interior ministry on February 1, the Sunday Times had reported, citing daughter Sarah Entwistle, who lives in central England.

The BBC also reported on Sunday, citing official Taliban sources, that two British nationals believed to be working for a non-governmental organisation in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan had been arrested.

The BBC cited one official as saying they had been arrested, about 20 days ago, after using a plane without informing local authorities.

Britain’s Foreign Office had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. The Taliban administration also did not respond to a request for a comment.

Western countries including Britain and the United States shut their embassies and withdrew their diplomats as the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021.

Afghan training centres say women to be barred from health studies

The British couple had been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years, deciding to stay there even after the Taliban seized power, the Sunday Times said.

Speaking to Times Radio on Monday, Entwistle said her parents had initially kept in touch via text messages following their detention - assuring their four children that they were fine - before losing all contact three days later.

“Our parents have always sought to honour the Taliban, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to explain their reasons for this detention. However, after more than three weeks of silence, we can no longer wait,” she said.

“We’re now urgently calling on the British consulate to do everything in their power to get us answers and to put as much pressure as they can on the Taliban for their release.”

The couple were arrested alongside a Chinese-American friend, Faye Hall, and a translator from their training business, Britain’s PA news agency reported.