Family of detained British couple plead with Taliban for phone call

Yahoo

05-03-2025

The family of an elderly British couple being held captive in Afghanistan has pleaded for the Taliban to allow them a phone call so that they know they have not been abandoned.
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were returning to their home in Bamiyan last month when they were detained –ostensibly over accusations that they had fake Afghan passports.
The couple, who have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and have joint UK-Afghan citizenship, are being held separately somewhere in Kabul.
Their daughter Sarah told The Telegraph that she is increasingly concerned about their wellbeing and she pleaded with the Taliban to arrange a phone call.
She wants nothing more than her parents to be released in time for her father's 80th birthday celebrations.
Sarah Entwistle said: 'We have a big family reunion planned for Dad's upcoming 80th birthday.
'It will be the first time in 20 years that all 33 of us have been together in the same place – our parents, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – we are desperately hoping the Taliban will release them in time for this.'
For the couple, Afghanistan was not just another war-torn country on the news – it was home. They were married in Kabul in 1970, before war ravaged the capital.
They later set up a company named Rebuild, which provides education and training programmes for a range of government and non-government organisations.
Such is their bond with Afghanistan that when the Taliban took power in 2021, they stayed, even after their house staff and most foreigners had left the country.
Ms Entwistle said: 'Dad is a gentle, compassionate man who is considered a 'father figure' to many people. He is deeply loved and respected around the world for his wisdom and kindness.
'Mum is a fun-loving, vibrant visionary with inspirational ideas. She is truly loved by everyone and spreads joy wherever she goes.'
Their relationship began at Bath University in 1968, when Mrs Reynolds, who had grown up in India and spent summers in Afghanistan, first set foot in England.
Fifty-seven years after they first met, Mr Reynolds still introduces Mrs Reynolds as 'his girlfriend'.
Ms Entwistle said: 'Both Mum and Dad had phone conversations with my brother on Feb 1 after their arrest in Bamiyan.
'However, three days later, when they were taken to Kabul for the second time, their texts became increasingly distressed, before we lost all contact.
'At first we waited for three weeks to see if the Taliban would release them. We heard nothing from them during that time, and we felt it was long enough to wait before informing the world of what had happened.'
Since their arrest, their home in Bamiyan has been ransacked and their house staff have been interrogated.
Sources within the Taliban told The Telegraph that the couple's detention is not based on any violations of local laws or religious customs, but is rather a political move to increase international pressure on the government and its supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada.
The arrests have triggered intense disagreements between Taliban factions based in Kabul and Kandahar, with 'heated phone calls exchanged' between the two power centres.
The interior ministry, responsible for their detention and potential release, is controlled by the Haqqani network, which is at odds with the establishment in Kandahar and seems to be using the situation it has created to challenge Akhundzada.
Addressing the Taliban, Ms Entwistle said: 'We know that there are those of you who want to see justice and peace in Afghanistan.
'We urge you to demonstrate this by releasing mum and dad to return to their home and continue their work. We also ask for proof of their well-being and the opportunity to communicate with them by phone.'
The couple's commitment to Afghanistan was shown in 2021 when they stayed, despite the country falling to the Taliban.
Ms Entwistle explained: 'Through tears Dad said, 'I could not get on a plane and land in Heathrow, leaving our friends and country in their greatest hour of need'.
'We admired them all the more for it – but it was so so hard. So much grief around for everyone there.'
She recalled a distressing moment when the Taliban took over the country after international forces withdrew.
She said: 'One time they thought they were about to be shot as the Taliban were at their gate. They were about to say goodbye on the video call, but we said 'no, please let us stay with you if this is going to be the end'.
'Then the soldiers passed by. It was one of the most stressful times we have ever lived through.'
The couple, who devoted their senior years to Afghanistan's most vulnerable citizens, now find themselves vulnerable in the same country.
'We don't know what conditions they are being held in, it is a concern given their age and Dad's health issues,' said Ms Entwistle.
The Reynolds' work includes programmes such as life skills labs, which are three-week workshops primarily for young people.
The workshops focus on project-based learning and cover communication skills, emotional and social intelligence and conflict resolution.
They would also hold Islamic student-focused learning courses for Afghan teachers.
Ms Entwistle said: 'The big thing they were focusing on in Bamiyan was Project Based Learning. They were working with groups of men and women - separately, obviously.
'They were helping the community to use systems thinking. This was to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills through project-based learning.'
Mr and Mrs Reynolds also held training courses for Afghan health ministry officials in Kabul before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.
Fada Mohammad Peykan, a former deputy health minister who was trained by the couple in 2019, described them as 'kind and patient people with excellent behaviour'.
Mr Peykan said: 'As their student and a ministry official at the time, I testify that they are good people – they are harmless and not the kind of people who would commit a crime.'
He said they loved Afghans and had a deep understanding of the country. During their courses, he added, they never spoke about politics.
Ms Entwistle added: 'Prior to the Taliban's leadership in Kabul, mum and dad discovered there was no extra support for children with special educational needs.'
This revelation sparked a mission to develop culturally relevant approaches for these forgotten children and to blend traditional methods with proven techniques from around the world.
She said: 'They organised groups where parents and their children with additional education needs could learn together. The testimonials were overwhelmingly positive, and the progress these families made was both remarkable and heartwarming.'
The dedication to Afghanistan runs deep in the Reynolds family.
Their childhood home featured framed posters of Afghanistan's landscapes with the hopeful caption: 'Tourism – Afghanistan's passport to peace.'
They would talk to their family members about Afghanistan and 'its incredibly brave, resilient people – amazing and beautiful stories about people that would make you weep, about how so many want to see the country flourish'.
Now, those same mountains cast long shadows over the Reynolds couple's fate.
Their daughter said: 'We understand how difficult it is as there is no British Embassy in Afghanistan. So our message to the British Consulate is thank you and please continue to do all you can.'
Small victories offer fragile hope - like the delivery of Mr Reynolds' prescription medicine through European Union representatives over the weekend, accompanied by the message that the couple's plight has become 'world news'.
Ms Entwistle said: 'This will be comforting for them to know they are not abandoned and forgotten.'
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