The fate of thousands of Afghans who were supporting Britain in Afghanistan

BY|Lighthouse Reports

Following the West’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last August, many thousands of people who served alongside the US, UK and their allies or worked in roles promoting Western values found themselves abandoned. Suddenly the Taliban, whom they had publicly stood against for so long, were in power, and many had no escape route.

In the days after the fall of Kabul, the Western country that had the second largest presence in Afghanistan after the US, the UK, pledged to launch a resettlement programme that would bring 5,000 at-risk people out of the country in its first year. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) was officially launched four months later in January 2022.

When the scheme opened, Home Office ministers pledged that it would prioritise Afghans who worked for, or were affiliated with, the UK government – specifically British embassy staff and British Council teachers and alumni of a prestigious scholarship known as Chevening – and their families.

An investigation by Lighthouse Reports has found that none of these people have been relocated under the scheme nearly a year after its launch – and that many of those left behind have faced torture and death waiting for a response from the British government.

Meanwhile, figures show that there are only between five and eight members of staff working on the ACRS, compared with 540 who were working on the Ukraine schemes earlier this year. Sources working on or close to the scheme have told us there was “unfairness” in the difference of approach to the ACRS and the Ukraine programmes, as well as “a lot of ping pong” over which government department it falls under.