'This is part two of my journey': Former Taliban hostage and Wagga academic returns to Kabul

Wagga academic and former hostage of the Taliban, Timothy Weeks, has returned to Afghanistan and appeared in a video celebrating the regime’s first year in power.

Also known as Muad Jibra’ll Omar Suraqah Khalid Barr, Mr Weeks converted to Islam upon his return to Australia and has spoken warmly of the people who held him hostage for more than three years.

“I came here with a dream to learn about Afghanistan, and now I’m coming again to complete my journey,” he said in the short video in which he appears in traditional Afghan dress.

“I’m also coming to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, who I have stood behind.”

The video was published by Afghan broadcast network TOLOnews on the weekend, along with the announcement that he had returned to Kabul.

In August 2016, Mr Weeks and American Kevin King were abducted at gunpoint from the American University of Afghanistan by Taliban soldiers.

In January 2017 a video of the pair was released in which they appeared gaunt and unkempt.

In a later video, Mr Weeks pleaded with the Australian Government to negotiate his release, saying, “I feel like you have abandoned me”.

He and Mr King were released as part of a prisoner swap deal with the US in late 2019.

Speaking to the media on his return to Australia, he described his ordeal as “long and torturous” and thanked the Australian, American and Pakistani governments, which worked for his release.

Despite describing the tough conditions the pair endured and the constant fear for his life, Mr Weeks also thanked the leader of the Taliban and his Taliban guards.

He expressed no animosity towards the guards and officers who imprisoned him, describing them as soldiers, and some of them as friends.

“I don’t hate them at all, and some of them I have great respect for and great love for.”

He said his friendships prompted him to question what had led them to “end up like this”.

“It’s quite obvious that when you persecute and isolate people, no matter what they have done, it never builds to trust and the only way that this situation is going to be resolved is if there is a trusting relationship formed and negotiations go forward.”

In the video released on Saturday, Mr Weeks again spoke positively of his relationships throughout captivity.

“I spent three and a half years with Taliban soldiers and I saw these people in a light that nobody else has been able to do.”

In a statement, a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that they were aware of reports that Mr Weeks had returned to Afghanistan.

“Mr Weeks did not inform the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ahead of his travel to Afghanistan,” they said.

“Australians, anywhere in the world, engaging with the Taliban have obligations under Australian sanctions law.”

Australia’s current travel advice for Afghanistan is “do not travel”.

“The situation in Afghanistan remains highly volatile. There continues to be an ongoing and very high threat of terrorist attack throughout Afghanistan, including around airports and at land border crossings,” reads the warning on the Federal Government’s travel advice website.

“The Australian Government may not be notified about a detention, and our ability to access information about or assist a detainee is severely limited. Our ability to provide consular assistance to Australians in Afghanistan is severely limited.”