Son

The son of a British couple who had been detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan nearly eight months ago said he was “drowned” because of their release.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife, Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan nearly two decades, is scheduled to fly to the United Kingdom on Saturday after she was reunited with their daughter in Qatar.

Jonathan Reynolds has told BBC Radio 4 today that it was “great euphoria and a greatly” for those who participated in securing their release.

The Taliban, who detained the couple on their way home on February 1, said that the spouses had broken the Afghan laws and were released after judicial procedures – but the Islamic group never revealed the reason for their detention.

there Emotional scenes were on Friday While she was the daughter of the couple, Sarah Instaltel, her parents met while starting from the plane in Doha.

“We look forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens,” Barbie told France Basti at Kabul Airport after Qatar’s negotiations, which mediated in their release.

Their son, Jonathan, repeated those hopes, saying, “Their desire will be to continue to live there and do the work they were doing.”

The UK Prime Minister, Sir Kerr Starmer, praised the “vital role” that Qatar played in securing their release.

Peter and Paribi Reynolds married Kabul in 1970 and spent the past 18 years in managing a charity training program that was approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group regained strength in 2021.

“They have no just a heart for the people of Afghanistan, but they also have a strategy, and the work they did is very fruitful and had a great positive effect,” Jonathan told the BBC.

A few weeks ago he said that he managed to share the “truly encouraging” reports of their programs with his parents over the phone.

He said that Barbie’s first reaction was to “more work to do it.”

“But how do you do it in a country you do not welcome,” he added.

Their affection was manifested by Afghanistan by their decision to stay in Bamyan Province after the authoritarian regime took control of August 2021, while many other Westerners left.

The release of the spouses follows the most famous public pressure by their family, who described the horrific conditions for their arrest.

Jonathan said in July that his father was suffering from serious cramps and that his mother was a “numbness” of anemia and malnutrition.

Qatari official told the BBC that the spouses were transferred from Kabul Central Prison to a larger facility with better conditions during the final stage of negotiations on their release.

Taliban officials confirmed that they had received sufficient medical care during their detention and that their human rights were respected.

The couple was receiving medical examinations in the Qatari capital, Doha, before leaving it to London. They will arrive on a commercial trip on Saturday morning, according to France reports.

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

The Foreign Ministry says that the support of British citizens in Afghanistan is “very limited” and provides advice against all travel to the country.