LONDON: The son of a British couple currently detained in Afghanistan has asked the US for assistance in obtaining their release, saying they have “never heard one accusation or one charge.”

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, who have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, were arrested on Feb. 1 by the Taliban in Bamiyan province over what they believed was a flight permit issue.

However, despite being initially told it was a minor problem and that they would be released, the pair, along with Chinese-American friend Faye Hall and their translator, had their phones confiscated and were later transferred to a Kabul jail by the Interior Ministry.

Their son Jonathan Reynolds, who lives in Chicago, told Sky News that the pair and their family had not been given an explanation by the authorities for their nine-week detention. 

“Originally they (authorities) said they didn’t have the right paperwork to have a chartered plane, which was incorrect and it was all produced,” he said.

“They took a short flight (to Bamiyan from Kabul) to pick up a Chinese-American friend who has visited multiple times,” he added.

“I believe there have been 29 investigative interviews with staff members — people they have served and supported — and everything has come up as no credible charges.”

In February, the Taliban said the pair were arrested because it was believed their Afghan passports were fake.

Peter Reynolds has said he was told books “against Islam” had been confiscated at their house in Afghanistan, but officials had not followed up on these claims.

“They’ve been in and out of court, which is infuriating for them because there’s no charges and they are told every single time: yes, they are innocent, it’s just a formality, we’ve made a mistake,” Jonathan Reynolds said.

In February, the BBC reported that a Taliban official had said the government was keen for the couple to be released. 

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani was quoted by The Independent as having said: “A series of considerations is being taken into account, and after evaluation, we will endeavor to release them as soon as possible.”

Hall was released on March 29 after bounties placed on the heads of various Taliban figures, including the interior minister, were dropped by the US. The Taliban said her release was “a goodwill gesture.”

Peter Reynolds told the BBC: “Anybody who has the ability to unlock that key and let them out, whether it be the Taliban, whether it be the British government or whether it be the American government, I would ask — do it now, please.”

The family previously appealed to the Taliban to show clemency for Eid Al-Fitr, when the regime handed out amnesties to several thousand detainees in its prisons.

The couple, who married in Kabul in 1970, run the Rebuild organization, which provides training and educational programs for local people.

“I think anyone who goes in their 60s and 70s to live and become Afghan citizens is probably not naive to the dangers of it,” Jonathan Reynolds told Sky.

“If they wanted to live a quiet, retired life and be around their grandkids they could have done that.

“They are under a deep conviction from back in the late 60s when they married in Afghanistan in 1970 that they were going to give their life for a bright future for Afghanistan.”

He said he is extremely concerned for his parents’ welfare, especially as food and medicine are limited in the Taliban’s prison system.

EU and Qatari officials have been able to get essentials to the couple, who are being held separately, and Jonathan Reynolds expressed gratitude to Qatar for aiding his parents.

However, contact with them has been limited to the use of a pay phone in the jail — and the couple have had no direct contact with each other since being jailed.

LONDON: The Gaza war is causing young British Muslims to become disillusioned and isolated, the head of the Muslim World League has said, urging the UK government to consider integration as a national security issue.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa told The Times that division between Muslims and non-Muslims has been “exacerbated” by the conflict, allowing extremism to develop on both sides.

“A political situation outside (the UK) should not interfere with integration inside,” he added, calling on both sides to focus on domestic issues of mutual concern.

Al-Issa previously warned that rising Islamophobia was a threat to peaceful coexistence in the UK.

The MWL is one of the most powerful Islamic organizations in the world, and in 2023 Al-Issa became the first prominent Muslim figure to be received by the UK’s King Charles at Buckingham Palace.

Al-Issa’s warning came amid new polling by the MWL that found stark differences in values and perceptions between Muslims and non-Muslims, especially among young people.

Younger Muslims in Britain are more isolated from mainstream politics and less likely to view integration as an important duty, the poll found, based on a sample size of more than 5,000 people including more than 450 Muslims.

Almost two-thirds of Muslims described their relationship with non-Muslims as “positive” or “mostly positive,” while less than a quarter of non-Muslims felt the same.

Only 5 percent of non-Muslims felt that religion should play a role in politics, compared to almost 20 percent of Muslims.

More than 70 percent of Muslims labeled increased diversity as “positive,” compared to about 40 percent of non-Muslims.

Less than 10 percent of Muslims aged 18-24 viewed the UK as a tolerant country, and said British concerns over Islam were illegitimate or based on sensationalist media reporting.

About half of the UK’s Muslim population is younger than 25, Al-Issa said, highlighting the importance of the poll and the effect of British foreign policy in the Middle East.

The MWL “believes that this distance creates divides and extremists — both Muslim and non-Muslim — flourish where there are divides,” he added, warning that both sides are “living separate lives.”

Al-Issa said: “Without integration there is isolation, fear of the other. That can cause a vacuum that the evildoers will try to fill.”

The MWL announced a £100,000 ($128,000) donation to develop a social fund that will build bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain.

Integration must be at the heart of UK government policy or national security will be threatened, Al-Issa said.

“The problem of integration has been exacerbated by the conflict in Gaza and the politics in the Middle East,” he added.

The MWL “calls on Muslims and non-Muslims in the UK instead to focus on domestic issues where there are shared concerns, such as policy areas that unite rather than divide.”