VOA News
December 11, 2023
Afghan special forces trained and funded by Britain and who worked side-by-side with British troops in Afghanistan in the fight against the Taliban are now facing the possibility of being deported from Pakistan, where the Afghan troops and their families fled, according to a BBC report.
The 200 special forces would likely be targeted for revenge by the Taliban if they were to return to Afghanistan.
Pakistan says it is ready to deport any Afghans who do not possess the proper papers for residency.
Failing to relocate the Afghans who worked with the British in Afghanistan “is a disgrace,” Gen. Sir Richard Barrons told the BBC Newsnight. “It reflects that either we’re duplicitous as a nation or incompetent. . . Neither are acceptable.”
In addition, 32 former Afghan politicians now living in Pakistan who worked with Britain and the U.S. have also not received the proper paperwork that would enable them to travel and live abroad.
Most members of both groups – the troops and the politicians – have filled out the paperwork to relocate to Britain through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Program.
Many have been rejected, while others are still waiting to learn their status more than a year later, the BBC reported.
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