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Over 1,000 Eligible Afghans Remain Stranded in Pakistan Amidst Lack of Safe Housing
(MENAFN) According to a report by The Independent, over 1,000 Afghans who served alongside UK forces in Afghanistan and their families remain stranded in Pakistan and are eligible to come to the UK for resettlement [1]. The individuals have been stuck since the UK ceased chartering special Royal Air Force flights to evacuate Afghans from Pakistan in November [1]. Among those stranded are former interpreters, medics, embassy employees, and at least 500 children [1].
The Afghans left in Pakistan face a bleak future, as they could face up to a year before they can travel on commercial flights due to a lack of safe housing in the UK and severe Home Office backlogs in processing asylum seekers [1]. These individuals are left in legal limbo, with limited rights, sources of income, and no access to education [1].
The UK government has come under criticism after it recently emerged that a former Afghan pilot, who had served alongside the British Army, had been threatened with deportation to Rwanda [1]. Johnny Mercer, the UK’s minister for veterans’ affairs, recently told MPs in the House of Commons that “the flow of people (from Afghanistan) to whom we have responsibility is not working as we would like at the moment” [1].
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey admitted that 63 people stranded in Pakistan had been there over a year, with some having been there over 500 days [1]. Those identified are eligible to travel to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy, but the number of those traveling since November has plummeted, with just 56 in total between December and February 2023, down from an average of 385 per month between January and November 2022 [1].
The situation for those stuck in Pakistan is dire. One former interpreter, who has been trapped in Pakistan for over a year, said: “This is my sin that I worked with British forces. I am like a prisoner and we are not safe in Pakistan”.
In addition to those stuck in Pakistan, there are also at least 4,600 people still stuck in Afghanistan [1]. The situation highlights the challenges that the UK government is facing in fulfilling its responsibility to protect and assist Afghans who worked with UK forces and are now at risk due to their association with the UK.
The Afghans left in Pakistan face a bleak future, as they could face up to a year before they can travel on commercial flights due to a lack of safe housing in the UK and severe Home Office backlogs in processing asylum seekers [1]. These individuals are left in legal limbo, with limited rights, sources of income, and no access to education [1].
The UK government has come under criticism after it recently emerged that a former Afghan pilot, who had served alongside the British Army, had been threatened with deportation to Rwanda [1]. Johnny Mercer, the UK’s minister for veterans’ affairs, recently told MPs in the House of Commons that “the flow of people (from Afghanistan) to whom we have responsibility is not working as we would like at the moment” [1].
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey admitted that 63 people stranded in Pakistan had been there over a year, with some having been there over 500 days [1]. Those identified are eligible to travel to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy, but the number of those traveling since November has plummeted, with just 56 in total between December and February 2023, down from an average of 385 per month between January and November 2022 [1].
The situation for those stuck in Pakistan is dire. One former interpreter, who has been trapped in Pakistan for over a year, said: “This is my sin that I worked with British forces. I am like a prisoner and we are not safe in Pakistan”.
In addition to those stuck in Pakistan, there are also at least 4,600 people still stuck in Afghanistan [1]. The situation highlights the challenges that the UK government is facing in fulfilling its responsibility to protect and assist Afghans who worked with UK forces and are now at risk due to their association with the UK.
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