London: UK foreign Office A whistleblower alleged Tuesday that many of the country’s allies in Afghanistan left and left them at the mercy of the Taliban during the fall of the capital, Kabul, as a futile and arbitrary evacuation effort.
In devastating evidence to a parliamentary committee, Rafael Marshall said that thousands of requests for help via email were unread between August 21 and August 25. The former Foreign Office employee estimated that only 5% of Afghan nationals who applied to flee under a UK program received aid. He said that at one point, he was the only person monitoring the inbox.
“There were typically more than 5,000 unread emails in the inbox at any one time, including several unread emails from early August,” he wrote. Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which is investigating Britain’s chaotic departure from Afghanistan. “These emails were desperate and urgent. I was struck by a slew of headlines, including phrases like ‘Please save my kids.'”
The marshal said that some of those left behind were killed by the Taliban.
After the Taliban came to power in August, United States of america, Britain and other countries rushed to expel Afghans who had worked with Western forces and others at risk of violent retaliation.
Britain managed to get 15,000 people out of the country in two weeks, and the government says it has helped more than 3,000 others leave Afghanistan since then.
But an Afghan resettlement plan announced by the government in August, which aims to bring another 20,000 people to Britain, has yet to materialize.
Former Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who was transferred from the Foreign Office to become Justice Secretary after the crisis, defended his actions.
“Some of the criticism seems to be off the ground facts, the operational pressure with the Taliban takeover, which is unpredictable around the world,” he said. BBC, “I think there hasn’t been enough recognition of how difficult it was.”
The head of the foreign affairs committee, Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative lawmaker, said Marshall’s testimony “raises serious questions about the leadership of the Foreign Office.” The committee is scheduled to question senior civil servants of the Foreign Office on Tuesday.
The Taliban stormed across Afghanistan at the end of the summer, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away. The Taliban captured Kabul on 15 August.
Many working for the Western powers or the government worried that the country could plunge into chaos or the Taliban could launch vengeful attacks against them.
Many also feared that the Taliban would re-enact the harsh interpretation of Islamic law they relied on when they ran Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. At that time, women were required to wear broad burqa and a male relative was accompanied whenever they went out. , The Taliban banned music, cut off the hands of thieves and stoned the adulterers.
In devastating evidence to a parliamentary committee, Rafael Marshall said that thousands of requests for help via email were unread between August 21 and August 25. The former Foreign Office employee estimated that only 5% of Afghan nationals who applied to flee under a UK program received aid. He said that at one point, he was the only person monitoring the inbox.
“There were typically more than 5,000 unread emails in the inbox at any one time, including several unread emails from early August,” he wrote. Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which is investigating Britain’s chaotic departure from Afghanistan. “These emails were desperate and urgent. I was struck by a slew of headlines, including phrases like ‘Please save my kids.'”
The marshal said that some of those left behind were killed by the Taliban.
After the Taliban came to power in August, United States of america, Britain and other countries rushed to expel Afghans who had worked with Western forces and others at risk of violent retaliation.
Britain managed to get 15,000 people out of the country in two weeks, and the government says it has helped more than 3,000 others leave Afghanistan since then.
But an Afghan resettlement plan announced by the government in August, which aims to bring another 20,000 people to Britain, has yet to materialize.
Former Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who was transferred from the Foreign Office to become Justice Secretary after the crisis, defended his actions.
“Some of the criticism seems to be off the ground facts, the operational pressure with the Taliban takeover, which is unpredictable around the world,” he said. BBC, “I think there hasn’t been enough recognition of how difficult it was.”
The head of the foreign affairs committee, Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative lawmaker, said Marshall’s testimony “raises serious questions about the leadership of the Foreign Office.” The committee is scheduled to question senior civil servants of the Foreign Office on Tuesday.
The Taliban stormed across Afghanistan at the end of the summer, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away. The Taliban captured Kabul on 15 August.
Many working for the Western powers or the government worried that the country could plunge into chaos or the Taliban could launch vengeful attacks against them.
Many also feared that the Taliban would re-enact the harsh interpretation of Islamic law they relied on when they ran Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. At that time, women were required to wear broad burqa and a male relative was accompanied whenever they went out. , The Taliban banned music, cut off the hands of thieves and stoned the adulterers.
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