UK scrambles to house Afghan refugees promised safe haven in Britain as Pakistan threatens deportation

Exclusive: Nearly 3,000 Afghans, many of whom worked for the British army, have been stranded in Islamabad for months after the UK stopped chartering flights last year

The UK government is scrambling to find homes for Afghans eligible for sanctuary in Britain who are trapped in Pakistan after authorities announced a brutal crackdown on refugees, The Independent can reveal.

Nearly 3,000 Afghans, many of whom worked for the British army, have been stranded in Islamabad for months after the UK stopped chartering flights last year and demanded refugees find their own housing in Britain before travelling. Pakistan police stormed one of the hotels housing the UK-bound Afghans last week and arrested several whose visas had run out.

Pakistan has also issued an ultimatum to the 1.7 million Afghan asylum seekers in the country without legal documents, saying they must leave the country by 1 November.The Independent understands that the government is now scrambling to find accommodation for the Afghans in the UK and they will organise flights once this is found.

A handful of Afghan families have already been flown to the UK this week on commercial flights and preparations are being made to move more. The government has written to councils that have free service family accommodation spots to see if they can house the Afghan families there.

There are around 2300 Afghans in Pakistan who are eligible for the Ministry of Defence’s Arap resettlement scheme, figures for early September show. A further 700 Afghans trapped in the country are eligible to be brought to the UK on the Foreign Office’s ACRS scheme.

It is unclear yet how quickly the hundreds of families will be moved, but Afghans living in the Islamabad hotels estimated that 20-30 families have already come to the UK.

Many of them are facing deportation back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan if the UK government does not organise their safe travel to Britain before November. Families have seen their Pakistan visas expire because UK politicians have left them to languish in the hotels for months - meaning they now have no legal right to be in the country.

This came to a head last week when Pakistan police stormed one of the hotels housing Afghans eligible for relocation to the UK and arrested several people. The refugees were only released from custody after officials at the British High Commission intervened.

The Afghans are invited to come to the Islamabad hotels by the UK government after their resettlement applications are approved and their accommodation is paid for by the British.

One former interpreter with British forces who is still stuck in the hotels told The Independent: “I have been waiting here for nearly two years. New families are going to the UK every day but I am still waiting and I am so bored from life. Life is very hard and tiring and no one listens to us. No one understands our problems. I live with a broken heart like a despondent and lonely person.”

The Afghans are invited to come to the Islamabad hotels by the UK government after their resettlement applications are approved (MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Im)

Charities and campaigners have called for the immediate transfer of these eligible families to the UK in light of the Pakistan government’s threats to expel them from the country. Dr Neelam Raina, an academic who has supported refugees who have been forced to flee Afghanistan, said: “The new Pakistan ruling is causing panic. The Home Office must expedite these cases. Some of these people have death warrants against them in Afghanistan and face certain execution if deported.”

Charity The Sulha Alliance said: “We are calling for the immediate transfer of Arap and ACRS eligible Afghans waiting in Pakistan to the UK. They are no longer safe. Pakistan’s crackdown on undocumented Afghans directly affects Afghans in UK foreign office hotels, waiting for UK housing.”

The Ministry of Defence, Foreign Office and Home Office refused to answer questions about the relocation.

A government spokesperson said: “We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK, and we are issuing new visas to people in Afghanistan and other countries for resettlement here.”