Up to 35 percent of Afghans who worked for the British military in the Central Asia state may be denied the right to relocate, according to the Daily Mail. The Taliban sees them largely as “traitors” and has vowed to take revenge once the UK and other NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan. Why is the UK leaving its collaborators out in the cold?
An Afghan translator named Shaffy has found himself abandoned by the British Armed Forces following repeated attempts to get sanctuary in the UK, according to the Daily Mail.
The former interpreter had worked for Brits, both on frontline and for senior politicians, for six years but was dismissed without the right to appeal in 2013 after allegedly sexually threatening a woman officer. Shaffy resolutely denies the accusations, stressing that they could cost him and his family the possibility to relocate and evade the Taliban's* revenge. Several years ago the Afghan mujahideen branded him as an “infidel spy” and swore that he would “die like a dog”.
No Guarantees That Shaffy Will Win His Case in Time
On 29 December 2020, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel announced the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), a new scheme to offer relocation or other assistance to current and former locally employed staff in Afghanistan as the US and NATO forces prepared to withdraw from the region.
In light of this, individual cases such as Shaffy's “serve as tragic reminders of the labyrinth-like process for…
