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The Taliban have told the BBC that he will strive to free two British citizens who have been arrested and retained in Afghanistan “as soon as possible.”
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were arrested on February 1 while they returned home in Bamiyan province of the country.
An American citizen and an Afghan were also arrested next to the couple, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The United Kingdom Foreign Ministry said Monday that he was supporting his family.
In a statement, the Taliban official Abdul Mateen Qani said: “A series of considerations are being taken into account, and after the evaluation, we will strive to release them as soon as possible.”
The three foreign citizens had Afghan passports and national identification cards, he added.
The reason for the arrest of Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds has not been confirmed.
The couple had been executing training projects in Afghanistan to 18 years, including one that involved the training of mothers and children.
Apparently, their work had been approved by local authorities, despite the fact that the Taliban prohibit the education of girls over 12 years and did not allow women to work.
The Taliban announced that women would be Prohibited to work for non -governmental organizations (NGO) in 2022. last December, he said that Close any NGOs that use women.
The couple married in Kabul in 1970. They remained in Afghanistan after the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, which saw most westerners leave the country.
His daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told the BBC that she He had not had news of his parents in more than two weeks.
They had communicated by text after the couple was initially arrested, but the contact stopped after three days.
Mrs. Entwistle and her brothers wrote to the Taliban to beg the liberation of their parents.
“We recognize that there have been cases in which exchanges have been beneficial for their government and Western nations,” they wrote.
“However, our parents have constantly expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would prefer to sacrifice their lives than to be part of the rescue negotiations or be changed.”
On Monday, Mrs. Entwistle said they had wanted to give the Taliban an opportunity “explain their reasons”, because Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds “had always tried to honor” the group.
But she said they could no longer wait, telling Times Radio: “Now we are urgently asking the British consulate to do everything in their power to obtain answers and press as much pressure in the Taliban for their release.”
The United Kingdom closed its embassy in Kabul and withdrew its diplomats from the country after the Taliban returned to power.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that support for British citizens in Afghanistan is, therefore, “severely limited” and advise against all trips to the country.
Additional Mahfouz Zubaide reports.
