London: The British Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the British special forces have rejected asylum applications from more than 2,000 Afghan commandos, even though these commandos fought alongside the British army in Afghanistan.
These special Afghan units took part in dangerous missions with the SAS and SBS. After the Taliban returned to power, these commandos were at high risk of reprisals. The UK had promised to resettle them, but all applications were rejected.
The court heard that the Ministry of Defense knew that there were flaws in the policy of refusal, but despite this there was no independent review. Several Afghan commandos are still awaiting a decision, and some were killed or tortured by the Taliban.
British special forces are currently under investigation for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Members of the ‘Triples’ unit may have evidence that could play a key role in the investigation.
Some British MPs and former officers say the UKSF has deliberately withheld applications so that the commandos cannot testify about war crimes.
Lawyers for the Afghan commandos have launched legal action against the British Ministry of Defence, demanding that the MoD clarify the transparency of its decision and speed up the review process.
