LONDON: Several Afghan translators who served with the British military during their deployment in Afghanistan and who were reportedly left behind during the evacuation last year are reportedly suing the UK government.
According to sky NewsLawyers for at least six translators said the processing system they were going through was “horrendous” as four of them were initially rejected, and then later returned to the UK after legal papers were filed. cleared away.
One of the translators, who was not on the evacuation flight with her family last August, and who filed a legal appeal following ARAP (Afghan Rehabilitation and Assistance Policy) plan rejection, told the channel that she felt “trapped” in Afghanistan. did.
Reportedly, he successfully applied for transfer in February and was told in May to await instructions on how to leave Afghanistan through a third country, but is still awaiting those instructions.
“I’m really scared and I’m hiding,” he told Sky News. “I feel very sad, I live like a prison, my message to the British Army is ‘We saved the lives of British soldiers and now it’s time to save my and my family’s life’.”
Another man, who has also filed a legal appeal, was to be assisted by the Canadian government to escape to Afghanistan, and has since been living in a hotel room in Pakistan with his wife and five children.
“Despite assurances, the overall operation of the scheme has been appalling,” Solicitor Kayas Siddiqui told Sky News.
“These individuals – if they did not have legal representation – would be left stranded in Afghanistan or a third country where they have no right of residence,” he said.
ARAP was launched in April 2021 and since then, more than 10,000 people out of around 120,000 applications have been successfully transferred. However, it is believed that there are 8,000 more eligible.
The delay was “regrettable” according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence, which also said it was putting more resources into identifying and assisting eligible applicants.
A spokesperson said, “We continue to relocate qualified Afghans to work with the UK Armed Forces under the ARAP scheme and are regularly working with partners in the region to bring out as many people as possible.” “
“All applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Processing deadlines vary due to the complexity and individual circumstances of each applicant and we apologize for any delays as we work through complex cases.
“We are investing in a new casework system, pouring more resources and adopting our approach to make the identification and process of eligible Afghan applications easier and faster,” the spokesman said.