LONDON: A former Afghan colonel who fled to the UK has been threatened with deportation in the latest controversy surrounding the Home Office’s policy, The Independent reported on Monday.
The veteran was involved in joint UK-Afghan operations against the Taliban during the country’s war but says he was “not helped in any way” following the collapse of the Western-supported government.
In a bid to find safety for his family, the man, who was recovering from a wound, left his wife and children to travel to the UK, making his way across 11 countries before arriving in Britain on a small boat.
The news of his pending deportation follows the similar case of an Afghan pilot, who was also threatened with deportation and has received backing from senior British military officials.
The colonel applied for Britain’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy while still in Afghanistan in late 2021.
He received a message in response from a UK official but has yet to see any communication since then, The Independent said.
Many former Afghan military officials and soldiers fled to the UK using illegal routes in the wake of the Taliban takeover, with serious delays affecting the legal options that Britain had launched.
The colonel, who said that he sustained more than 20 injuries during fighting against the Taliban, said: “The whole situation is affecting me mentally now. I am worried for my family. If my situation gets better here, then I will be able to make plans for them. But until that happens, I am very stressed.”
He described his combat experience, saying that he worked alongside British forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, which saw heavy clashes between the Western-led coalition and the Taliban.
“From school days, I was seeing the soldiers and fighting in my country. I was interested in the army, and so, when the foreign forces came, I joined the (police training) academy.
“I worked first for many years as part of the Afghan National Police special forces, and in that role, I was involved in operations, shoulder to shoulder with the mainly British and American forces, in Helmand province.
“Obviously it was scary. We are at risk of being killed at any time, either from landmines being everywhere or being fired at,” he said.
The colonel, in pictures seen by The Independent, met senior Western military officials, including US Gen. Austin Scott Miller, who served as the final commander of NATO and US forces in the country.
After suffering a gunshot wound in his leg, the colonel witnessed the collapse of the former Afghan government while recovering in a hospital bed.
But he knew he was at risk of revenge attacks if found by the Taliban, saying that he felt “abandoned” as his government collapsed.
“Unfortunately, toward the end, everything that happened, it left us with a feeling of abandonment and being left behind.
“No one cared what happened to us, the military personnel and the country as a whole. Towards the end, even the ammunition was cut off; the dead soldiers were left behind,” he said.
During his journey to the UK, the colonel traveled through countries including Iran, Turkiye, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Germany, facing violence from border guards on several occasions.
The Home Office letter he received, sent in February, warns of the colonel’s possible deportation to Rwanda on the grounds that his journey to Britain was illegal.
Gen. Lord Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, is supporting former Afghan forces who worked alongside the British presence in Afghanistan.
He said: “This is another example whereby people have tried to do the right thing by applying for the ARAP scheme but have been ignored or let down.
“People like this colonel, and the pilot, should have their cases examined as a matter of urgency and, if genuine asylum-seekers, be allowed to remain here as if they had come via the ARAP scheme.”
The colonel is being supported by charity Care4Calais while living in Home Office accommodation in the UK.
Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith warned that Britain’s asylum system had been “intentionally designed to prevent refugees from seeking sanctuary.”
He added: “It is leaving Afghan veterans with no safe route to claim asylum in the UK, and it’s time ministers intervened, withdrew their deportation threats, gave them asylum in the UK, and reunited them with their families who remain in danger in Afghanistan.”
