Five British nationals detained by the Taliban since last December, including former BBC cameraman and Afghanistan expert Peter Jouvenal, were released on Monday following British Foreign Ministry (FCDO) background diplomacy.
The five are believed to have been captured separately, and British sources said nothing was given in exchange for their release except an apology from them. However, the British government had issued a statement on Sunday denouncing the violence in Afghanistan and saying there was no alternative to the pragmatic commitment to the current administration.
Jouvenal was arrested by the Taliban in Kabul six months ago after traveling to the country to talk about some mining investments and to talk to his many longtime friends in the country.
He is married to an Afghan with whom he has three children and was, in the words of BBC reporter John Simpson, one of the best television cameras in the world. The two men worked together almost two decades ago. He is 66 years old and has high blood pressure. He had enjoyed little access to the outside world in captivity, had not been seen by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and had no charges against him.
The FCDO said it would not disclose the names of any of the other people who had been released, but confirmed that no other Britons had been arrested.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a tweet: “I am delighted that the United Kingdom has secured the release of 5 British detainees in Afghanistan. They will soon be reunited with their families. I am grateful for the hard work of the British diplomats to achieve this result “.
The FCDO said: “We welcome and appreciate the release by the current Afghan administration of five British nationals who were detained in Afghanistan.
“These British citizens had no role in the work of the UK government in Afghanistan and traveled to Afghanistan against the travel advice of the UK government. That was a mistake.
“On behalf of the families of the British, we apologize for any breach of Afghan culture, customs or laws, and offer their assurance of good future conduct. The UK Government regrets this episode.”
Earlier in the day, in a statement that could have been part of the diplomatic effort, Hugo Shorter, the UK’s chief business officer for Afghanistan, said: “The United Kingdom does not support no one, including Afghan nationals, who seeks to achieve this, political change through violence, or any activity that incites violence for political purposes, in Afghanistan, and will not allow the soil of the United Kingdom to use it to plan or prepare it, and we strongly discourage others from doing so.
“Violence of any kind is not in the interests of Afghanistan or the international community, and we deplore terrorist attacks of all kinds.
“To promote peace and stability, provide essential humanitarian support to the Afghan people and address shared security concerns, there is no alternative to pragmatically committing to the current administration of Afghanistan, and that is what we are doing “.
There seemed to be no obvious reason for the publication of the statement.
The UK does not recognize the Taliban and, in common with other states, is struggling with how to deal with them to protect the common people of Afghanistan, and yet it is repulsed by the way women have been deported. and out of secondary education. .
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Recently, the Foreign Ministry had strongly advised the shadow Secretary of State, David Lammy, not to travel to Afghanistan, saying that he was putting himself at risk and urging him not to talk to the Taliban during their two-day visit.
Lammy had never intended to meet with the Taliban, and focused her visit under UN protection on the issue of the humanitarian crisis in the country and the plight of women. Lammy has criticized the fact that no UK minister has been in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led exodus last August led to the collapse of the former government and the Taliban’s victory.