What's happened
The UK government has announced that around 500 Afghan soldiers, previously denied relocation, are now eligible for resettlement. This follows a review revealing that many were directly employed by the UK, contradicting earlier claims. The decision has sparked criticism over the slow response to the needs of these veterans amid ongoing Taliban threats.
Why it matters
What the papers say
According to Holly Bancroft in The Independent, armed forces minister Luke Pollard acknowledged that the previous government had wrongly denied relocation to Afghan soldiers who were directly employed by the UK. Pollard stated, 'This is evidence that goes beyond previously identified top-up payments,' emphasizing the need for a swift resolution to the plight of these veterans.
Conversely, BBC News reported that Pollard attributed the initial errors to 'poor record-keeping' rather than malicious intent, suggesting systemic failures rather than deliberate exclusion. This perspective was echoed by Dan Sabbagh in The Guardian, who noted that the review's findings reflect 'the problems that have dogged the Afghan resettlement scheme under the previous government.'
The contrasting views highlight a critical debate on the government's responsibility towards Afghan veterans and the adequacy of the current relocation policies.
How we got here
Since the Taliban's takeover in 2021, approximately 2,000 Afghan soldiers who served with British forces were denied relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap). A recent review has uncovered evidence that some of these soldiers were directly employed by the UK government, leading to a reassessment of their applications.
More on these topics
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Luke Pollard is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport since 2017. He was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in January 2020.
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The Taliban or Taleban, who refer to themselves as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, are a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement and military organization in Afghanistan currently waging war within that country.