Britain has announced plans to rapidly resettle hundreds of Afghans who worked for the UK military and government, mostly as interpreters, amid fears for their safety as international troops leave Afghanistan.
Over 3,000 people, including family members, are expected to be allowed to relocate to British soil, joining the 1,300 who have already done so under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who hailed the move, was cited as saying:
“As we withdraw our Armed Forces, it is only right we accelerate the relocation of those who may be at risk of reprisals. Nobody's life should be put at risk because they supported the UK Government to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan. We are doing everything to make sure we recognise their services and bring them to safety. It is the right thing to do.”
At least five coalition translators were reportedly murdered this year, with some former UK interpreters subjected to attacks.
‘In Together, Out Together’
Since British forces ended combat operations in Helmand in 2014, troops who served there have been vocal in their demands that those who assisted them during their deployment be offered safety against possible reprisals.
Originally, the troops had been deployed to the country since 2001 as part of a coalition tasked with intervening in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The US had launched an invasion in October 2001 ostensibly to destroy the al Qaeda* terror group (banned in Russia), which masterminded the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington from Afghan soil.
However, during the intervening years, the US found itself bogged down in a counterinsurgency fight against the Taliban* and other groups.
Last year, then-US President Donald Trump signed a peace agreement with the Taliban*, under which the group pledged to prevent the country from turning into a base for Al-Qaeda** and to engage in negotiations with Kabul in exchange for a US military withdrawal.
Democratic President Joe Biden announced the decision to drawdown all US and NATO troops in that country beginning 1 May and concluding by 11 September, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The plan will oversee withdrawal of 2,500 US troops plus a further 7,000 from “NATO allies”, including 750 from the UK, which have been mostly providing security in the capital Kabul.
“The plan has long been in together, out together,” Biden stated.
The US, who employed many more local Afghans, is reported to be working on a similar scheme of resettlement.
Casting a ‘Wider Net’
In the UK, previous schemes to offer refuge to the afore-mentioned Afghans were rooted in rigid criteria regarding who could apply. For example, the Afghans' length of service and precise roles were taken into consideration.
Accordingly, interpreters who worked with British troops on the frontline in Helmand for more than a year were given preferential treatment.
Now, prompted by the impending departure of international troops, the UK government has rewritten the ARA, casting a “wider net”.
Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel are reportedly working to ensure as many as possible interpreters and their families can be airlifted out of Afghanistan by mid July.
"Following the decision to begin the withdrawal of military forces from Afghanistan, the prime minister has agreed with the Ministry of Defence, Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to rapidly accelerate applications through the policy," said the government in a statement.
The scheme is open to any Afghan, regardless of seniority while working with British troops, duration of service, employment status or role, whose life is deemed at risk as a consequence of their work, according to the outlet.
The policy offers a visa for five years' leave to enter the UK. Applicants are also granted the opportunity to apply for indefinite leave to remain at the expiry of that period, and may be accompanied by a wife and dependent children.
Staff at the British embassy in Kabul will be entrusted with carrying out an assessment of the threat. The offer is also said to include paid travel to the UK, four months' accommodation and access to mainstream UK benefits.
*The Taliban is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia
**al-Qaeda, a terrorist group banned in Russia and a number of other countries