Afghan interpreter who helped frontline British soldiers faces 'death sentence' when he is sent back to the Taliban after UK 'cruelly' withdrew offer of sanctuary

'Nasir' worked as an interpreter for the British Army for four yearsHe was twice told he qualified to be relocated to the UK for his work But he has been told by the MoD that he is now no longer welcome in the UK  

A former frontline translator for UK forces faces being sent back to the Taliban after Britain ‘cruelly’ withdrew its promise of sanctuary.

For more than two years Nasir (not his real name, which is protected by a court order), who worked four years with the British military and was injured in a bomb blast while on patrol, believed he was about to relocate to the UK after twice being told he was qualified for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

The 34-year-old sold his home and belongings in Afghanistan after being instructed by UK officials to travel to Pakistan where he, his wife and young son have been waiting to fly to England and begin his new life.

But in a sudden U-turn, he has been told that he no longer qualifies for ARAP and now says he faces the prospect of deportation back to Afghanistan and the ‘enemy’ he ‘helped Britain flight.’

A devastated Nasir said: ‘This is like passing a death sentence on me if I am forced to return.

Nasir (pictured), not his real name, was twice told he would be allowed to relocate to the UK

The 34-year-old sold his home and belongings in Afghanistan after being instructed by UK officials to travel to Pakistan where he, his wife and young son have been waiting to fly to England

‘I went on hundreds of dangerous operations with UK forces, I was their trusted “eyes and ears”, I helped carry injured UK soldiers and risked my life beside them many times so I don’t understand that I am being denied relocation having been approved.

‘For two years we have waited to be flown like others to Britain but now the country I helped over four years wants to wash its hands of me – they gave us hope and now want to snatch it away. It is cruel and unjust.

‘If I am abandoned, they know the threat to me in Afghanistan because of my work for UK is very real, my father and son have been beaten by Taliban fighters looking for me.

‘They have been told I will be killed as a “spy” of Britain.’

A former supervisor of interpreters, Nasir, who worked with UK forces from 2007-11, first applied for ARAP in 2021 but was refused on the grounds that he had been terminated (dismissed) after a fight with another interpreter.

Some 200 Afghan special forces troops face being deported from Pakistan and into the hands of the Taliban (Afghan special forces pictured during a commando graduation in May 2021)

Afghan Special forces patrol a deserted street during fighting with Taliban fighters, in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, on August 3, 2021

General Sir Richard Barrons, the former Commander of UK Joint Forces Command, was outraged by the situation

His case was one of those successfully taken up by the Daily Mail’s award-winning Betrayal of the Brave campaign which highlighted how the UK military had fired 35 per cent of their translators potentially condemning them to Taliban revenge because they did not qualify for ARAP.

Officers he had worked with on the frontlines had praised Nasir’s ‘bravery under fire’, describing him as ‘diligent and hard working…an integral part’ of operations.

Shortly after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, Nasir was informed he could relocate, sold his home and possessions and travelled to Islamabad where he is housed in a hotel overseen by the British High Commission.

Last year he received another letter from ARAP confirming he was eligible for relocation.

However, three months ago he was contacted again by ARAP to be told that both approval letters had been ‘sent in error’ and were ‘invalid’.

He was told he was ‘not eligible’ for relocation – strangely, the letter claimed that he had been terminated in 2013. It was 2011.

Nasir has always insisted he was attacked by the other interpreter, that he was dismissed despite his much-praised work without an investigation or right of appeal and that he was not questioned about what had happened.

One translator who was there at the time of the incident and is now in the UK has offered to give evidence on his behalf.

A Taliban fighter stands guard as a woman walks past in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 26, 2022

Afghan Special forces patrol a deserted street during fighting with Taliban fighters, in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, August 3, 2021.

The case has outraged campaigners and lawyers, who have launched a challenge in the courts – one of a series on behalf of terminated interpreters.

Dozens of terminated ex-translators for the UK military remain in hiding in Afghanistan and claim their lives are at risk because of their work for British forces.

Some like Nasir, say they took part in hundreds of frontline patrols only to be terminated, often when a new regiment arrived in Helmand to begin a new tour of duty.

They point out ‘the Taliban cares only that an interpreter worked for the “infidel forces, betraying Islam”, not whether he was terminated or not.

Many have turned to people smugglers to escape the Taliban and reach Europe. At least three are currently in Turkey aiming to come to the UK and claim asylum, knowing that former colleagues have been successful after reaching Britain.

Erin Alcock, of the law firm Leigh Day, which has won several cases on behalf of Afghans, said: ‘We represent a number of former patrol interpreters who served on the frontlines with the British military in Afghanistan, but have been refused access to the Afghan relocation scheme on the basis they were dismissed from their employment.

A Taliban fighter is pictured standing guard in Kabul as families walk past

Some 200 Afghan special forces troops are in hiding in Pakistan but face deportation

‘Our clients say that those dismissals, many of which happened over 10 years ago, appear to have lacked proper investigation or adequate opportunity for them to individually challenge any allegation or decision against them.

‘Those affected by the policy say it is It is wholly inappropriate for what they believe is an unfair process from so long ago to be the basis for their exclusion from the evacuation scheme.

‘Their lives are at serious risk in Afghanistan because they served with the British military.’

She added: ‘They believe that those people who seek to punish patrol interpreters because they performed that role do not care whether or not a person was dismissed from service; those people see our clients as collaborators with the British military no matter how their employment ended.’

Professor Sara de Jong, of the Sulha Alliance, which works to help former translators, said: ‘Still too many interpreters at risk are left in Afghanistan and refused resettlement, because they were suddenly fired from their jobs, often after years of faithful service.

‘There can’t be any justice until the MoD gets to the root of the issue, which is that they fired more than one-third of their local Afghan interpreters, without the due process we would expect.’

It was the research and work of Prof de Jong that led to the MoD revealing the UK military terminated 1,010 interpreters out of 2,850 up to August 2014 without the right of appeal – 264 were dismissed after serving 12 months or more ‘outside the wire’ in Helmand.

She said: ‘British Army soldiers who fired an interpreter, didn’t know at the time that this could subsequently block the interpreter’s resettlement.

‘The current policy approach is not fit for purpose: we need a case-by-case assessment in which context and testimonies of interpreters and others are carefully considered.’

The MOD has said it does not discuss individual cases and stressed each case is examined individually. Each case, it said, is made in ‘accordance with published policy.’

Officials highlight how more than 25,000 Afghans have been brought safely to the UK, including thousands of people eligible for the two major Afghan schemes.

They include some terminated interpreters initially denied relocation.

Overseen by former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, many terminated translators were subsequently approved if deemed to have been dismissed for a ‘minor offence’ but many others claim to have lost their jobs ‘unjustly’.

Campaigners highlight how Pakistan has recently cracked down on Afghans without visas, deporting thousands.

Nasir says if ‘abandoned’ by the UK, he will be in Islamabad illegally and so deported.