LONDON: About 600 Afghan interpreters who served with British forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan will be offered the chance to live in Britain after a government U-turn, it was revealed yesterday.
Prime Minister David Cameron had sought to discourage the interpreters from settling in Britain for fear of the message it would send out about the stability of Afghanistan.
Many Afghans say they have been threatened by the Taliban because of their work with British forces due to withdraw at the end of 2014 along with Nato-led foreign troops.
Interpreters who served on the frontline for at least one year will be allowed to move to Britain with close family members on a five-year visa. Those who wish to remain in Afghanistan will receive an improved financial offer — salary for five years if they train or study, or for 18 months if they do not.
“These proposals give them a choice: The opportunity to go on working in Afghanistan, learning new skills and to rebuild their country or come and make a new start in Britain,” a source in Cameron’s Downing Street office said.
The decision came after three interpreters launched a legal challenge to press for the same treatment afforded to their counterparts who worked with British forces during the Iraq war.
One interpreter, who wished to be known only as Mohammad, said the government had made “the right decision”.
“Saving those people who have helped the British government is giving a message to the Taliban that Afghan interpreters will not be left behind to be persecuted and hunted down by terrorists.”
He was forced to leave his wife and three children in Afghanistan after receiving death threats for his five years’ work with British troops.
“I hope that with this decision, I would be able to reunite with my family in the UK and other interpreters would be able to come here to live in peace with their family,” he said.
His lawyer Rosa Curling, who lodged the legal challenge at the High Court in London earlier this month, said she was “delighted” at the government’s offer, although she admitted she had not seen details yet.
“These are men who have been on the front line with our troops, risking their lives, involved in frontline battle,” she told BBC radio.
“So we’re delighted that the government has finally seen sense and decided to provide them with the assistance that they provided to the Iraqi interpreters.”
She added that, for her clients, “the death threats continue, so resettling in Afghanistan does seem to be very difficult — the Taliban are very effective at following them”.
The Downing Street source said Cameron “has been very clear that we should not turn our backs on those who have trod the same path as our soldiers in Helmand, consistently putting their lives at risk to help our troops achieve their mission. We should recognise the service given by those who have regularly put themselves in real danger while working for us.” AFP
