The Taliban have agreed to release an American citizen after Donald Trump removed multimillion-dollar bounties from senior members of the group.

Faye Hall was being held alongside the elderly British couple, Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, after all three were arrested on Feb 1, alongside their interpreter Juya.

On Thursday, guards resorted violence to separate Ms Hall from Ms Reynolds, after the women had refused to be released separately, according to the couple’s daughter.

Sarah Entwistle said: “In the past 24 hours, there has been a deeply distressing development in the ongoing detention of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, Faye Hall, and their Afghan interpreter.

“Yesterday, Barbie and Faye were summoned to the gate of their compound. As they have throughout their detention, both women insisted that they would only leave if all four detainees were released together. This unity has been unwavering since the beginning.

“A group of guards – both male and female – arrived with handcuffs and attempted to remove Faye. When both women resisted, clinging to one another and to the chain-link fence, the guards resorted to violence. They were dragged kicking and screaming, with Faye ultimately being ripped from Barbie’s arms and thrown into an unmarked car.”

Ms Hall was taken to court and informed of a release order applying only to her. When she asked about her companions, officials told her: “We are only dealing with you.”

Mr and Mrs Reynolds and Juya remain in Taliban detention.

Political pawns

Taliban officials said the decision to release Ms Hall was made after the Trump administration removed millions of pounds in bounties from three senior members of the Haqqani network, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban government’s interior minister.

Mr Haqqani was previously one of Washington’s top targets, with a $10 million (£7.72 million) reward offered for information leading to his capture.

The Haqqani network was implicated in some of the most high-profile and deadly attacks during the US-led war in Afghanistan.

The Telegraph has previously revealed that the couple’s detention was not based on any violations of local laws or religious customs, but was a political move by a faction to increase international pressure on the government and Haibatullah Akhundzada, its supreme leader.

A senior Taliban official said: “All of them [Ms Hall and the Reynolds] were arrested by the Haqqani network to extract concessions from their respective governments and put pressure on the supreme Mullah.

“They are now satisfied after the [Americans] lifted sanctions on Sirajuddin and are waiting to see what they can get from the British.”

He added: “It’s a way to keep Trump happy, hoping that he would recognise the Taliban.”

The Taliban has removed its flag from the wall of the US embassy in Kabul, in what appears to be another attempt to appease Mr Trump.

The official said the Taliban’s main goal regarding Mrs and Mrs Reynolds was “recognition of the new government by England”.

Empty assurances

The development contradicts what Ms Entwistle described as “eight weeks of Taliban assurances” that all four detainees would be released together.

She said: “This incident directly contradicts eight weeks of Taliban assurances that this case would only be resolved as a group of four. They have all been fed lies for eight weeks, endured torture and abuse.”

A Taliban spokesman has previously said the couple, who hold Afghan passports, would be released “soon”.

The Reynoldses were taken to court separately last week in Kabul but did not appear before a judge after spending four hours chained to other prisoners.

The couple, who have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and have joint UK-Afghan citizenship, were married in Kabul in 1970.

The pair set up Rebuild, a company that provides education and training programmes for government and non-government organisations and remained in the country when the Taliban took power in 2021.