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British general disappointed at ex-Afghan soldiers not getting asylum: ‘We as a nation are incompetent or incompetent’

About 200 members of the Afghan special forces are being arranged to be repatriated to their Taliban-controlled homeland.

These special forces soldiers were trained and financed by Britain.

These statistics are collected by the Afghanistan Veterans Network. A former British general has described the widespread deportations as ‘treasonous’ and ‘disgraceful’.

These soldiers fled to Pakistan after the Taliban returned to power, but now Pakistan says it will deport the Afghan refugees.

While Britain says it has provided protection to thousands of Afghans.

General Sir Richard Barons, who served in the British Army for 12 years in Afghanistan, told BBC Newsnight that Britain’s failure to relocate these troops was ‘disgraceful, because it reflects says that either we as a nation are hypocritical or incompetent.’

He said that both these situations are unacceptable. This is cheating. And the price of this betrayal will be borne by those who served with us. Either they die or spend the rest of their lives in prison.’

In 2021, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament that the services of these Afghan special forces had been ‘incredibly important’. He added that Britain would try to get them ‘safe passage as far as possible’.

Concerns about these Afghan commandos emerged after it emerged that the British government had also rejected calls from senior British diplomatic and military figures to grant asylum to key Afghan civilian leaders whose lives were at risk.

The BBC has obtained a private letter sent to the Foreign Office in March 2022, calling for urgent help from a group of 32 former governors, prosecutors and officials. These Afghan officials worked with the United Kingdom and the United States in Helmand province between 2006 and 2014.

Like most of the 200 Special Forces soldiers, the 32 personnel applied for asylum in the UK through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Program (ARAP). These are people who were employed by the UK government, or who ‘worked with, collaborated with or closely supported a UK government department in Afghanistan.’

The applications of many officials and soldiers were rejected while many others are still awaiting a decision after more than a year.

A former district governor, one of the officials supporting Britain, told the BBC his application was rejected two weeks ago, 20 months after the first application.

Sir Richard, one of the signatories to the private letter, said: ‘We had a special engagement with these people but we could not keep it satisfactorily or effectively. We didn’t even look at it sympathetically.’

‘We Fought Side by Side’
Ali, one of the Afghan special forces soldiers facing deportation from Pakistan, told the BBC he felt abandoned and betrayed by Britain. Is.

Speaking from a one-room safe house, he said of his work with the British Army: ‘We lived together day and night. During training we slept under the same tent and ate the same food.

‘During the operations we fought shoulder to shoulder with the British as members of a family.’

Ali was a member of the elite unit known as Commando Force 333. The unit was established by the UK in 2003 to combat the growing problem of opium production in Afghanistan.

Together with another similar unit, the Afghan Territorial Force 444, they became known as the ‘Triples’. He soon gained a reputation for efficiency, honesty and courage.

General Sir Richard Barons said: ‘Triples was at the forefront of UK-backed counter-terrorism operations. They carried out the most dangerous, the most difficult, the most important missions with the British soldiers.’

After the collapse of the Afghan state in August 2021, CF 333 was one of the few units that remained firmly established. When British passport holders were fleeing the country, Ali and his companions were stationed at the Baron Hotel in the capital, Kabul, to guard them.

But he was unable to board the evacuation flight himself and eventually reached Pakistan by land. Ali felt that his almost two decades of fighting alongside the British meant that he would soon be offered help. But they were wrong.

He said, ‘We never thought that heroes would be left out. We took all kinds of risks. We were ready to help the international community, we respected freedom of expression and human life, and then everything turned upside down. It’s really disappointing.’

Now, the Pakistani authorities are cracking down on Afghans who do not have documents to stay there. And saying that if they catch anyone without valid documents, they will deport them. In such a situation, Ali said: ‘I cannot even work. I live in this one room with my wife and five children for fear of the police. He has locked himself in the house for three months.

According to one estimate, there are about 200 commandos like Ali who face deportation by the end of the year. The data was collected by a secret network of former members of the Afghan security forces and sent to the media.

It is impossible to know for sure, but senior British diplomatic sources have told us that these figures are the best estimates so far.

It is not only the former members of the Afghan special forces who complain of being left helpless, but there are also Afghan citizens who have helped Britain.

‘I was betrayed’
Mohammad Fahim was one of the Afghan political figures in the fight against the Taliban as the governor of Helmand’s Garmseer district. Helmand was a key Taliban stronghold before 2001. And this is the same area where Prince Harry served while in Afghanistan.

Speaking to a confidential source, he said: ‘When I was governor, we arrested several Taliban leaders. They knew we were fighting alongside international forces, so the threat to me is real.’

There was one time when he wore an explosives vest like a would-be suicide bomber but failed to detonate, potentially saving dozens of lives, including women and children.

Like Ali, Mr Fahim said he had embraced the idea of ​​a joint mission with the British and used the same phrase to describe their relationship: ‘We want to provide security to the people of Helmand, give them a good They were running programs side by side under the common goal of giving life and establishing peace.’

This work has put them in great danger. He said that his brother and two cousins ​​were killed by the Taliban and were beaten so badly in 2018 that he thought he would not survive.

And when it became clear to him that the Taliban were coming back to power, Mohammad Fahim feared further reprisals.

He says: ‘I dread just remembering it all. I didn’t cry when my brother was killed.’ But he says ‘I cried a lot that night’ when he realized the Taliban would regain control.

Mr Fahim said he thought he would be granted asylum because of his close partnership with British forces, but the ARAP scheme rejected his request.

Now they are forced to hide in the neighboring country of Afghanistan. Their visas have expired and their options are dwindling.

Mr Fahim says: ‘I was cheated. I never thought I would be left alone like this.’

He said that despite being a British soldier and being supported by diplomatic figures, he was denied asylum.

General Sir Richard Barons said: ‘I am personally embarrassed because I feel very strongly that we made a commitment to them and we did not keep it.

“It is absurd to say that they are not qualified and should not be left to their fate at the hands of the Taliban.”

He said that if a governor who had served with the British forces was not eligible, ‘it would surprise you that there was anyone who could get into the scheme.’

‘Completely unfair’
Ali has also been rejected by ARAP, a body managed by the Ministry of Defence. He was told that he did not qualify as a direct employee in the UK or a person working with a UK government department.

Lt Gen Abdul Hadi Khalid, the first commanding officer of CF 333, told  that the decision was ‘totally unfair’. He said his men were paid directly by Britain.

He said that ‘all the goods, clothes, food, all expenses including salaries, everything came from Britain. The donor for this mission was the British Government. This is quite obvious.

I did not expect this from the British government. They made many promises, but what can we say if they forget? This is dishonesty.’

Lt. Gen. Khalid said that the way triples were treated would be a black mark on the reputation of the West. “I am 100 percent sure that when other nations, other developing powers see Afghanistan, when they see the Afghan people, the suffering of Afghans, how can they trust the West?”

The Ministry of Defense said the UK had made a ‘strong and generous commitment’ to support eligible personnel in Afghanistan.

A spokesman said: ‘So far we have evacuated around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes.

‘Each ARAP application is reviewed individually and in accordance with published policy, and we do not make decisions about eligibility based on the job role itself.’

Despite all this, Ali and Mr Fahim say they are proud to work with the British forces.

Ali said: ‘I can’t forget how we looked after each other in remote villages.’ He recalled that he remembers how a commander of the British and American forces put his blanket over Ali’s shoulders during the winter.

“It’s one of my fondest memories, but what happened later overshadows it,” he said.

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