Hero Afghan pilot: UK commanders sent me into combat... how can you abandon me?

Exclusive: Afghan war hero who escaped Taliban to come to Britain hits back at officials who say his military service is not enough to stop his deportation

The Afghan pilot threatened with deportation to Rwanda despite having worked with British forces against the Taliban said he feels “abandoned” after his UK resettlement application was rejected.

The air force lieutenant, who flew multiple combat missions planned by coalition forces, travelled to Britain in a small boat after fleeing Afghanistan in fear for his life, leaving his wife and child behind.

Despite describing how British commanders planned the sorties, he was told this week that allied operations in Afghanistan would not have been “materially less efficient or materially less successful” without him.

After the refusal of his application to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap) scheme, which is aimed at getting those who worked with British forces out of Afghanistan, on the grounds that he is “not eligible”, the pilot must now wait to see if he will be sent to Rwanda. He is also waiting to hear if he will be accepted by the US Department of State, which has said it will consider his application.

“I am really disappointed,” he told The Independent, which first highlighted his plight in March. “We weren’t carrying out simple tasks in Afghanistan – we were doing your missions. Without our Afghan forces, the UK and US wouldn’t have been able to do their activities.

“Who are these people who think Afghan veterans are not in danger? They clearly don’t understand the situation in Afghanistan – right now the Taliban are mercenaries, targeting people like me who worked alongside UK and US forces.”

The pilot warned that Afghan veterans around the world are “reading stories about how we are being treated in the UK”, adding: “They think, ‘Why should he be in this situation, threatened with sending him to Rwanda rather than offering help?’

“The UK is losing the trust of those who served alongside your forces, and that is not good for the future. Arap should include people like me who served alongside your forces.”

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Describing his involvement with UK forces, the pilot previously told The Independent: “Mostly we flew at night. The British would plan special missions and they would use the Afghan Special Force and the Afghan Air Force.”

The rejection of the pilot’s application was condemned by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the former head of the British army, who said it was a “very disappointing decision, justified on very narrow grounds”.

And Air Marshal Edward Stringer, commander of RAF air operations during the Afghan conflict, said the UK government was making a “weaselling distinction” over the pilot’s war record.

The man has been living in limbo for months after coming to the UK on a small boat, while his family hide from the Taliban in Afghanistan. He has now turned to the US, and is being considered for possible sanctuary there under its P1 resettlement scheme, to which you have to be personally referred by a US official – although the process can take years.

“If the UK are abandoning us again, I hope the US may help,” the pilot said. “Many former Afghan pilots are even flying in the US, they are using their skills, unlike what the UK are doing with me.

“Maybe if I get to the US, I can work as a pilot again and have a future – which helps my family, who are still in danger in Afghanistan.”

Rejected under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy, the pilot is now waiting to see if he will be sent to Rwanda (Supplied)

Lord Dannatt said the fact that the pilot had been “cast off” by the British for the US to handle was “a complete abrogation of our responsibilities and our decency”.

Air Marshal Stringer added: “The de facto contract was that we encouraged Afghans to join the security services and fight alongside us to achieve our ends, putting themselves at risk from regressive and dangerous forces such as the Taliban.”

The pilot is among thousands of small-boat asylum seekers to be given “notices of intent”, which claim that they should have sought protection in countries they travelled through on the way to Britain, and that they may be deported to Rwanda or another country.

But with an EU-wide returns agreement lost in Brexit and the Rwanda scheme mired in legal action, few deportations are taking place, and pressure is mounting on the government to stop delaying the processing of asylum applications.

Afghans now account for the largest cohort by nationality among those crossing the Channel, but a new bill going through parliament would allow the government to detain and deport them without considering their asylum claims.

Former army colonel Steve Smith MBE, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais, said the refusal of the pilot’s application “proves that the government’s promise to those who served alongside UK and coalition forces in Afghanistan was just hot air”.

“It is to our government’s eternal shame that they are washing their hands of any responsibility they have to protect the safety of those who worked alongside us in Afghanistan,” he added. “The scheme is not fit for the purpose of offering protection to Afghan veterans, and the eligibility criteria must urgently be reviewed.”

An official rejection letter, seen by The Independent, said that the pilot did not meet the criteria for Arap because of its requirement to have been “directly employed” or “in partnership” with the UK government, armed forces or contractors.

The government said it did not accept that his role had “resulted in a high and imminent risk of a threat to [his] life”.

The pilot is living under threat of deportation to Rwanda (The Independent)

Dozens of military chiefs, politicians and celebrities have urged the government to offer the pilot sanctuary and warned of the future repercussions of abandoning those who served alongside UK forces around the world.

A spokesperson for the government said it remained committed to protecting vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan, and that so far it has brought around 24,500 people to the UK.

“We continue to work with like-minded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible Afghans,” they added.