London: Only 23 percent of Britons believe that the government is doing enough to aid Afghan veterans who served alongside British forces, a new poll commissioned by The Independent has revealed.
It comes amid new figures that show five in six applicants to the UK’s military scheme for relocation have faced rejection.
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, one of two schemes launched by the UK in the wake of the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, has rejected almost 19,000 applicants, while only finding 3,399 eligible.
The scheme aims to relocate Afghans who served alongside the UK military during the War in Afghanistan and who are now in danger as a result of the Taliban’s control of the country.
The Independent poll comes as the government faces criticism over the planned deportation of an Afghan pilot to Rwanda despite his successful evacuation to the UK following the Taliban takeover and long-term combat experience supporting the Royal Air Force.
Almost 50 percent of respondents to the poll, which surveyed 2,193 adults between March 31 March and April 2, want more to be done to save Afghan veterans.
Labour MP Dan Jarvis, a former soldier who served in Afghanistan, said: “It’s reprehensible that brave men who served alongside us are paying the price for the government’s failing ARAP policy.
“The government has had over 18 months to grip this, but as ARAP numbers dwindle, small boat crossings rise.
“It’s just not good enough to tell people to use the safe and legal routes when they aren’t fit for purpose.”
The scheme has also faced delays in relocating eligible applicants from Afghanistan and neighboring countries, including Pakistan.
Sarah Fenby, of the non-governmental organization Global Witness, communicated with hundreds of Afghans who served alongside the British military, including members of the Afghan Territorial Force 444, which was launched and trained by the British Army.
However, not a single person has been granted eligibility since April 2021, Fenby warned.
She said: “A number have been told they are not eligible because they weren’t directly employed by the British. These are people who were central to fulfilling the UK’s mission in Afghanistan.
“They did counterintelligence, counter-narcotics, were armed and side-by-side with our guys.
“They see themselves as special forces, and their work with the British now leaves them massively exposed.”
Many of the former contractors and soldiers have fled to neighboring countries out of fear of revenge attacks over their work for Western forces.
Fenby said: “These guys are desperate. They are terrified because they were on the frontline. I’ve got one guy who went to Pakistan and was living in a park in Islamabad. He was deported to Afghanistan, and I’ve not been able to get hold of him since.”
Dr. Sara De Jong, co-founder of charity The Sulha Alliance, which is attempting to expedite relocation efforts, said: “The interpreters who I am in contact with report significant mental distress.”
She added: “The 1,000 ARAP eligibles, including 500 children left in limbo in Pakistan, risk falling victim to an ‘out of sight, out of mind policy’.
“Yet others are still in Afghanistan and have been waiting for over a year for an ARAP decision.”
The case of the Afghan pilot has drawn significant attention to the ARAP scheme two years after its launch.
The UK Home Office, which oversees immigration claims, has refused to comment on whether the pilot’s pending deportation will be withdrawn, and has denied to comment on individual cases.
Lord Alfred Dubs, 90, who fled Nazi occupation before the Second World War as a child refugee, described the pilot’s planned deportation as “absolutely shocking.”
He added: “If he risked his life for us, how can we possibly not consider giving him safety? The government must think again.”
A spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence said: “We owe a debt of gratitude to those interpreters and other staff eligible under the ARAP scheme who worked directly for, or with, UK forces in Afghanistan.
“To date we have relocated over 12,200 individuals to the UK under ARAP.
“The UK government has committed to relocating eligible Afghans and their families to the UK under the ARAP scheme and will honor this.”
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