Taliban releases British couple after 8-month captivity in Afghanistan

[ad_1] NEW Now you can hearken to Fox Information articles!

An aged British couple have been launched by the Taliban this week after eight months in captivity.

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter Reynolds, 80, arrived in Qatar on Friday following months of negotiations between Qatar, the Taliban and Britain. The couple had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, the place they ran an schooling charity.

Regardless of the ordeal, Barbie Reynolds mentioned they might return to Afghanistan if they might. They're each Afghan residents.

"God is nice, as they are saying in Afghanistan," she added on the Kabul airport.

ISRAEL RECOVERS REMAINS OF THREE MORE BODIES HELD BY HAMAS: 'NO VICTORY UNTIL LAST HOSTAGE RETURNS'

Barbie Reynolds, who was launched from Taliban detention in Afghanistan, is greeted by her daughter Sarah Entwistle in Qatar on Friday. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa )

The couple, who had been taken into custody in February, have been met by family, together with their daughter, once they arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.

Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, was clearly emotional and advised reporters in Qatar, "Thanks for giving us our household again."

She added that their household could be "ceaselessly grateful to the Qatari and British governments for standing with us throughout this tough time."

"This expertise has reminded us of the ability of diplomacy, empathy and worldwide cooperation," she mentioned.

The couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, advised Sky Information from the U.S. that their well being would have began to deteriorate if that they had been held any longer, regardless of Qatar ensuring that they had entry to their physician and medicines throughout their captivity.

United Nations well being specialists had additionally warned that the couple’s captivity might hurt and even kill them.

A Qatari official welcomes the launched British couple, Barbie and Peter Reynolds, as they step off the aircraft upon their arrival in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. (AP Photograph/Najib Jubain)

AFGHANISTAN MARKS FOUR YEARS IN POWER BY LURING YOUNG FEMALE INFLUENCERS TO BOOST TOURISM

Their household had accused the Taliban of mistreating the couple, and urged the federal government to elucidate why that they had been detained.

Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Qatar's minister of state, mentioned he was grateful "for the fruitful cooperation" between the U.Okay. and the Taliban in getting the pair launched.

The Taliban claimed that the couple had damaged Afghan legal guidelines with out going into element.

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/09/672/378/couple-detained-in-afghanistan-talking-to-reporters.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/09/1344/756/couple-detained-in-afghanistan-talking-to-reporters.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/09/931/523/couple-detained-in-afghanistan-talking-to-reporters.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/09/1862/1046/couple-detained-in-afghanistan-talking-to-reporters.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> British couple Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who have been launched from Taliban detention in Afghanistan, relaxation after disembarking from a aircraft, in Doha, Qatar. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

"We're very grateful that a minimum of, in the present day is a really nice humanitarian day, that they are going to be reunited with their household," Richard Lindsay, Britain's particular envoy to Afghanistan, mentioned, including that it was "clearly as much as the [Afghanistan] authorities right here to find out why they have been detained."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer added, "I need to pay tribute to the very important position performed by Qatar, together with the emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, in securing their freedom."