Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
An elderly British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan are being used ‘as pawns’ in the country’s internal power struggles, it has been reported.
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were detained as they travelled to their home in the country’s Bamyan province on February 1.
Their arrest was by ordered by a commander linked to the Haqqani network, a faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister.
Tensions are growing between the group and leading officials in Kandahar, who are fighting a pushback over the regime’s clampdown on women’s right.
The couple were arrested by the Taliban alongside an American friend, Faye Hall, who had rented a plane to travel with them, and a translator from the couple’s Rebuild training business.
The Rebuild employee said the group was told that their flight ‘did not co-ordinate with the local government’, adding that the three have been imprisoned in Kabul.
However, sources within the Taliban have told the Telegraph their arrest is not based on breaking any local laws or religious customs but to increase international pressure on the government and its supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada.
On Monday, a Taliban spokesman said the couple, who have worked in the country for 18 years and hold Afghan passports, would be released ‘soon’.
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were detained as they travelled to their home in the country’s Bamyan province on February 1
Their arrest was by ordered by a commander linked to the Haqqani network, a faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister (pictured)
Sources within the Taliban say the arrests are a bid to increase international pressure on the government and its supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada (pictured)
The spokesperson added they have been receiving medication for their health issues despite a colleague saying Mr Reynold’s is at risk of dying without access to his heart medication.
Following the arrests, there have been ‘heated phone calls exchanged’ as disagreements intensify between the Taliban factions based in Kabul and Kandahar
The Taliban official said: ‘Since their arrest, there has been significant back-and-forth between Kabul and Kandaha.
‘As the interior minister and the authority overseeing their detention and potential release, Haqqani seeks to present himself as a more reliable figure than those in Kandahar.’
Mr and Ms Reynolds have run school training programmes for 18 years and remained in the country after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
The couple, who originally met at the University of Bath, married in Kabul in 1970.
Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, told the Sunday Times: ‘My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke.
‘They were just trying to help the country they loved.’
Taliban fighters working as police patrol an area of the capital, Kabul
After taking power, the Taliban introduced a ban on women working and education for girls older than 12.
Since then, thugs from its ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice have targeted education providers and activists.
One of them, Matiullah Wesa, was arrested in March and her whereabouts remain unknown.
While the Taliban has not released a list of punishments for anyone involved in supporting women’s education, forced disappearances are said to have become ‘common’.
The Reynolds have dual citizenship and run five schools in Kabul, which includes a mothers and children training programme reportedly approved by authorities.
Mrs Entwistle and her three brothers have written an open letter to the Taliban calling for their mother and father to be released.
They wrote: ‘We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest.
‘They have communicated their trust in you, and that as Afghan citizens they will be treated well.’
It is understood the couple’s family did not want the UK Government to get involved with the case.
On Monday, a Taliban spokesman said the couple, who have worked in the country for 18 years and hold Afghan passports, would be released ‘soon’
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed on Monday that it is supporting the couple’s family.
In their letter to the Taliban, Ms Entwistle and her siblings wrote: ‘Our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would rather sacrifice their lives than become part of ransom negotiations or be traded.’
The couple met while they were studying at Bath University where Barbie obtained a BSc degree in sociology and psychology.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women have been progressively erased from public spaces, prompting the United Nations to denounce the ‘gender apartheid’ the administration has established.
Taliban authorities have banned post-primary education for girls and women, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public places.
In October, the Taliban banned women from hearing other women’s voices in a cruel rule which sparked fears that women will now no longer be able to talk to each other.
Afghanistan’s minister for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, Khalid Hanafi, said at the time: ‘Even when an adult female prays and another female passes by, she must not pray loudly enough for them to hear.
‘How could they be allowed to sing if they aren’t even permitted to hear [each other’s] voices while praying, let alone for anything else.’
