Afghanistan is moving into a darker future – and we are letting it happen

Editorial: Today marks two years since Britain’s chaotic exit from Kabul and the Taliban takeover. The way we’ve treated our Afghan allies ever since has been nothing short of a disgrace

British armed forces in Kabul work with the US military to evacuate eligible civilians and their families out of the country in August 2021 (MoD Crown/Getty)

Two years on from Britain’s chaotic exit from Kabul and the saga of a shameful betrayal is far from over.

While the government’s bespoke Afghan resettlement schemes have rescued about 25,000 refugees from certain execution at the hands of the Taliban, many more have been left in hiding in their own country, unable to escape, or else in camps in Pakistan, under threat of deportation back to their tormentors, while some have made the perilous journey across continents, seas and the English Channel to claim asylum in person.

Many of these people have been caught out by the arbitrary and bureaucratic processes required to qualify for resettlement, and others rejected because the schemes are too tightly drawn and rigidly interpreted. Ministerial games of evasion of responsibility haven’t helped matters. The inertia is almost incomprehensible.