LONDON: A British general who served in Afghanistan has condemned the UK government for abandoning Afghans who worked with NATO in the country, saying the UK should “feel deeply ashamed.”
Hundreds of Afghans who worked with allied forces over the course of the 20-year war, and are eligible to come to the UK, remain in hiding following the reinstatement of Taliban rule after last year’s withdrawal of Western troops.
Gen. John McColl told the BBC he wanted to tell Prime Minister Boris Johnson directly: “We made a commitment to look after these people, you made a commitment.
“You are not delivering on that commitment, so put a system in place that does deliver on it. It is an appalling situation; delays have been going on over nine months as there is no system adequate to deal with the number and complexity of the applications.
“These delays are inexcusable and there is absolutely no reason why the government does not have this in place.”
Hundreds of thousands of people fled Afghanistan after the Taliban retook power last year, but with the Home Office having said it would provide up to 20,000 Afghans safe routes to resettle in the UK, the Ministry of Defence said just 9,000 people and their dependents had so far been relocated.
Gen. McColl urged the Defence Select Committee to investigate the Afghan Relocations and Assistant Policy scheme, sating it is not fit for purpose.
Asked on the BBC’s flagship political “Newsnight” program if it was reasonable to expect delays given the war in Ukraine, the general said there was no excuse, claiming it was clear the resources were available to process these applications.
He added: “The government should feel deeply ashamed – as do I.”