UPDATE 2 - Afghan interim administration releases British couple after Qatari mediation

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM QATARI FOREIGN MINISTRY; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Ikram Kouachi

ISTANBUL (AA) - An elderly British couple held in Afghanistan was released by the interim Taliban administration on Friday after mediation from Qatar.

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said Barbie Reynolds, 76, and Peter Reynolds, 80, had violated Afghan laws and “were released from prison today after a judicial process.”

The couple was detained in February while they were returning to their home in Bamiyan province.

Balkhi stressed the issue of prisoners should not be politicized and thanked Qatar for its “sincere efforts and facilitation of the mediation.”

The interim administration handed the British nationals to Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan, who was accompanied by a Qatari delegation.

Lindsay said it was a "great day" for the British couple.

"We are delighted they are able to be reunited with their loved ones, their families," said Lindsay.

"We are very, very grateful indeed for the support we've had from the government of Qatar to secure their release."

The British special representative also thanked Afghan authorities "for the way in which they (British couple) have been treated and looked after in the last few months."

Separately, Qatar announced that it has facilitated the release of the two British citizens.

In a statement, Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi expressed appreciation for the “cooperation shown by both Afghanistan’s caretaker government and the United Kingdom.”

He highlighted Qatar’s “ongoing efforts to encourage direct dialogue and its firm belief in multilateral cooperation to uphold human dignity and protect human rights,” according to the Qatar News Agency QNA.