Taliban not trustable, there will be no mercy: Interpreter stuck in Kabul

An Afghan interpreter, who worked for the British troops for three years before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, has begged UK prime minister Boris Johnson to evacuate him and his family from the violence-torn country.

Ahmed – not his real name – said the permission to enter the UK came too late. By the time he got the nod from authorities, Kabul had been seized by the Taliban, reports bbc.com. The militant fighters are now controlling all access to Kabul airport. Ahmed said he was now in hiding and would “face death” if the Taliban found him, the website reports.

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Ahmed, who worked with British troops for three years, told the BBC he was initially rejected for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme in April. He appealed against the decision and last week received an email saying he was eligible for relocation. But he woke up the next morning to find Kabul being taken by the Taliban. 

“Life has ended for us when Kabul collapsed, we are just left behind in a dark room,” he said.

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Chaotic scenes were reported from Kabul international airport with people storming the tarmac and clambering up to the planes in a desperate bid to leave the country. With the Taliban controlling access to the airport, only Afghans with proper documents or passports can enter.

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Thousands of Afghan interpreters worked with allied forces and were their eyes and ears on the ground. There are fears that Afghans who worked with Western authorities or groups could be at higher risk of reprisals from the Taliban. That is where Ahmed’s fear stems from.

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“Taliban are not trustable… if they find me, there will be no mercy,” Ahmed said. “I have done a lot of patrols, missions, shoulder to shoulder with British armies, like a family, like a brother.

“It’s a major threat for me if I go out, they know me. There will be no mercy and I will face death,” Ahmed was quoted as saying by bbc.com.

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To UK premier Boris Johnson, Ahmed has to say, “I just want him to provide a pathway to safety for me and my family. I beg him

About 2,000 Afghan former staff and their families have come to the UK via ARAP this year, according to the Home Office, with a target of 5,000 by the end of 2021. The UK government has also committed to take in up to 20,000 Afghan refugees over the next few years.