RASC News Agency: The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that it has denied resettlement requests from more than 2,000 Afghanistani commandos who provided verified evidence of their service in British-backed military units. According to a report by the BBC English service, these individuals were those who had been created under the supervision of British forces in Afghanistan, trained by them, or had their expenses covered by the UK government. This comes despite the fact that, previously, the UK Ministry of Defence had denied the existence of such a policy restricting the resettlement of Afghanistanis who had served alongside British forces.
Mike Martin, a Member of Parliament, a Defence Select Committee member, and a former British Army officer who served in Afghanistan, described this rejection as “deeply concerning.” He stated, “It appears that UK Special Forces have blocked the resettlement requests of Afghanistani Special Forces because they were witnesses to alleged British war crimes currently under investigation in the UK’s Afghanistan war inquiry.” This British MP emphasized that if the Ministry of Defence is unable to provide a valid justification for these rejections, the issue must be formally included in an official parliamentary inquiry.
It is worth noting that the confirmation of more than 2,000 rejected resettlement applications surfaced during court proceedings earlier this month, amid an ongoing legal challenge brought forward by a former member of the UK’s Special Forces units.
