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New Statesman
16-07-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
What Britain owes Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN - JULY 8: British Royal Marines of 45 Commando stop an Afghan tractor during an eagle vehicle check point (VCP) operation as part of the ongoing Operation Buzzard July 8, 2002 in southeastern Afghanistan. During VCPs, small groups of marines are dropped quickly by helicopters to search random vehicles on dirt roads and trails near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to deny al Qaeda and Taliban fighters freedom of movement across the region. (Photo by) In 1999 Nooralhaq Nasimi, my father, fled Taliban-held Afghanistan for Britain. The journey, at one point, included spending 12 hours inside a refrigerated lorry. He was unable to speak a word of English. Building a new life had its difficulties, both administrative and personal, but my father did it. Today, nearly three decades later, I work alongside him running the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA), a London-based charity dedicated to helping refugees integrate. The ACAA now has branches across the country. My father gained a law degree. He learned English. He founded a charity. He received an honorary doctorate and an MBE. His work – and mine – attempts to build bridges between Britain and Afghanistan, two nations linked by history and tragedy for the best part of two centuries. We have also attempted to build relationships between refugees from around the world and their host nation. Perhaps – especially in recent years – there has never been a harder time to do this in Britain's history. The news this afternoon that the previous government set up a secret relocation scheme, the Afghan Response Route (ARR), involving 20,000 people at a cost in the order of £2bn after a 2023 data breach in the Ministry of Defence has caused a political sensation. The data leak put the lives of thousands of Afghans. Between 2001 and 2021 over 150,000 UK Armed Forces personnel served in Afghanistan. 457 were killed. 2188 were injured. Thousands of Afghans worked with them as interpreters and in other capacities. Those left behind after Western forces left Afghanistan in 2021 feared for their lives as the Taliban took control of the country. In February 2023, the Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, said: 'The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a dark chapter in UK military history. For the Afghans who cooperated with the UK, and the British troops who served in the country, the nightmare is far from over. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe 'They are at risk of harm as a direct result of assisting the UK mission. We can't change the events that unfolded in August 2021, but we owe it to those Afghans, who placed their lives in danger to help us, to get them and their families to safety.' Ellwood's words remain salient. The two year cover-up by the British government of the ARR does nothing to change these facts. Britain owed these men a safe home, like the home my father found. Darius Nasimi is the founder of Afghanistan Government in Exile (AGiE). [Further reading: The Tories are responsible for the Afghan fiasco] Related
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
UK shuts both its Afghan resettlement schemes without warning
TOI Correspondent from London: The UK govt has without warning shut down two legal schemes that helped over 34,000 Afghans claim sanctuary in Britain, sparking fury among the Afghan diaspora. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Immigration rule changes laid in parliament on Tuesday ended the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) for new applications. The scheme, launched in April 2021, was for those who had helped Britain fight the Taliban or who worked for the UK govt and feared reprisal. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), which opened in Jan 2022 to help women, girls and minority groups come legally to the UK, was also shut. Migration minister Seema Malohtra said the UK will not launch any further pathways. Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi, director of the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association in London, which helps Afghan refugees in Britain, was angry about the closure and said Afghans were facing 'daily humiliation' by the UK press. 'If they welcome the people of Ukraine and Hong Kong, there shouldn't be any discrimination against Afghans. Trump has done the same thing by introducing a blanket ban on Afghans,' he told TOI. 'The UK press is promoting bad things about Afghan society. We were once part of Persian civilisation and invented lots of good things,' he said, adding that closing all legal routes meant more Afghans would come to the UK illegally. Nasimi added the two schemes had not even evacuated the right people to date. 'Most of the Afghans evacuated so far are from a Pashtun background, who have tribal links with the Taliban. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now They have come to the UK, got their residency, and travelled back to Afghanistan to support the Taliban. The Pashtuns are wealthy and live in palaces now. But the people who really deserved to come, for example individuals who worked with Nato, are still stuck in Afghanistan or facing deportation from Pakistan and Iran. There are women, girls, musicians, and activists all stuck in Afghanistan who would like to come to Britain. We are contacted daily by people who tried to come via these schemes who never got any response. Millions face starvation.' Defence secretary John Healey said ARAP could be closed 'not least so that defence efforts and resources can be focused where they are most needed — on our nation's security.' Over 12,800 Afghans have been resettled in Britain under ACRS. By March 31, 2025, 21,316 Afghans had been relocated under ARAP. A further 22,000 ARAP applicants are in a backlog.
