A ‘number’ of British nationals detained in Afghanistan, UK government says

A “number” of British nationals are being detained in Afghanistan, the UK government said on Saturday, adding that it had raised the issue with the country’s Taliban authorities.

The foreign ministry’s statement to Agence France-Presse came a day after the Taliban released two overseas journalists who had been detained, including a former BBC correspondent.

“We are providing support to the families of a number of British men who have been detained in Afghanistan,” the ministry said, without specifying how many British nationals were being held and by whom. “UK officials have raised their detention with the Taliban at every opportunity, including when a delegation travelled to Kabul this week.”

A British delegation led by Hugo Shorter – the head of the UK’s mission to Afghanistan but based in Qatar – flew to Kabul to meet foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi earlier this week. Shorter said he had discussed the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as well as human rights abuses, with Taliban officials during his trip to the country.

On Friday, Western media reports said at least six British citizens were being detained in Afghanistan, including former BBC correspondent Andrew North, who was released later that day.

The Taliban authorities did not comment when contacted by Agence France-Presse.

Also among British nationals detained is Peter Jouvenal, who has been held since early December, a statement released by his friends said. A journalist turned businessman, Jouvenal is also a German citizen and is married to an Afghan woman. He might have been “detained in error” as he was in Afghanistan to discuss investments in the country’s mining industry, the statement said.