UK to Resettle Hundreds of Afghan Soldiers Following Review

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Facts

  • The UK government announced Monday it will allow hundreds of Afghan special forces members who fought alongside British troops to resettle in the UK, estimating they will overturn approximately 25% of 2K applications rejected under the Conservative Party.[1][2]
  • The rejected applicants were mostly members of Afghan units set up, funded, and run by the UK, known as the Triples, seeking resettlement following the withdrawal of coalition forces and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.[3]
  • An investigation by Lighthouse Reports, The Independent, and Sky News in November 2023 found that at least 24 members of the Triples had been tortured or killed by the Taliban since August 2021.[4][5]
  • Meanwhile, in February, a BBC investigation also claimed that UK Special Forces (UKSF) rejected hundreds of applications under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy scheme (ARAP) despite having strong grounds for resettlement.[6][5]
  • A review into the rejected applications was launched by the Conservatives in February. Commenting in Parliament, current armed forces minister Luke Pollard claimed that while he believes the previous government acted in 'good faith,' departmental errors meant a 'significant body of information' had been 'overlooked.'[7]

Sources: [1]The Telegraph, [2]Guardian, [3]BBC News (a), [4]Independent, [5]Verity, [6]BBC News (b) and [7]Parliament.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by arabnews.com. With allegations of war crimes continuing to cast a shadow over the UK's military operation in Afghanistan, it's reasonable to suggest that UKSF may have been rejecting the relocation of key eyewitnesses as part of a historic cover-up job. Despite fighting and dying alongside UK forces, elite Afghan fighters were ignored and rejected by the British state for far too long — the world deserves to know why.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by BBC News. This review, commissioned by the Conservatives, showed there was never bad intent in why applications were rejected. This brand new process was plagued with communication issues, as well as problems maintaining accurate records across various departments, and that's why some applications were overlooked.

Predictions