Murdered, tortured or in hiding: The special forces units abandoned to the Taliban by Britain
IndependentNov 01, 2023
Report: Elite Afghan Troops Face Threat of Return to Taliban
The Facts
Some 200 elite Afghan soldiers, trained and funded by the UK — who for years fought alongside the UK and other coalition forces against the Taliban — face imminent deportation from Pakistan to Afghanistan, where they'll likely face reprisals and ill-treatment, according to a BBC investigation.
Furthermore, a group of 32 former governors, prosecutors, and officials — who worked with the UK and US in Afghanistan's Helmand Province between 2006 and 2014 and fled to neighboring Pakistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 — reportedly face the same fate.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The UK is doing all it can, and the move to relocate hundreds of Afghans, who worked for the British military and government, to the UK has been accelerated. The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Program, supported by Embassies and High Commissions, remains open to eligible applicants.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the US will reopen its embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, by February 2028, according to the Metaculus prediction community.