The UK must repay its debt to Afghan heroes – before it is too late

Editorial: Were it not for the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 – by an international coalition in the aftermath of 9/11 – there would be no Triples, and no claims for asylum. They seek to come here because the West went there and upended their lives

The ‘Triples’, named after their divisional designations, were trained and funded by the UK (Supplied )

While Tory ministers indulge in their favourite hobby of infighting, the fate of brave Afghan special forces left in lethal limbo in Pakistan continues to shame a nation. Messrs Heappey, Tugendhat and Mercer, respectively serving as defence, security and veterans minister, seem to be embroiled in a wrangle about what government policy towards Afghan veterans actually is. Depending on which day of the week the question is raised, and to which of these ambitious youngish men it is directed, the answers can be quite different.

To be fair to these three musketeers, the situation can be complicated. There are (or were) two Afghan rescue schemes with differing criteria, as well as the usual rights to asylum, either regular or irregular – or as the latter is now misdescribed, “illegal migration”. The Afghans themselves will have had varying degrees of exposure to combat and fellow allied operations.

What, though, lay behind the quibbling is that the former members of the “Triples”, named after their divisional designations of 333 and 444, were trained and funded by the UK, sometimes fought alongside British forces, and were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in the shared objective of defeating the Taliban and winning in this particular theatre of the war on terror.

There is an obvious moral obligation too. At the moment it is being reneged upon because hundreds of these Afghans and their families are in mortal danger either in their homeland or in Pakistan – and the British government hasn’t given them asylum.

The opposition, under Sir Keir Starmer, has been right to rebuild its defence policy and to re-engage with the services. Sir Keir’s seasonal visit to those posted in Estonia, almost a frontline state given President Putin’s revanchist tendencies, was an encouraging example of the Labour Party giving the armed services the thanks and respect they deserve.

In that spirit, it was also right for the shadow armed forces minister, Luke Pollard, to pursue the matter. Given Labour’s proximity to power, given the polls and the impending general election, Mr Pollard’s pledge to honour a national moral debt carries almost as much weight as one from one of the incumbents, and it is plainly stated: “I am clear that we should honour the commitments made to Afghans and ensure they are not deported back to Afghanistan where they face an uncertain and potentially dangerous future.”

But Mr Pollard is not yet ensconced in the Ministry of Defence, and time is pressing for the Afghan emigres. The question to James Heappey and his colleagues therefore remains: “When will the Triples be given sanctuary in the UK?”

For its part, The Independent is proud of the role it has played thus far in saving the lives of these people, and of championing the cause of one ex-Afghan air force officer who had been similarly left to languish in bureaucratic purgatory. Now, he and his family have been allowed to try and make new lives in Britain, and the same debt needs to be repaid to the Triples.

The Tory right always prefaces its often cynical and disingenuous remarks about immigration with the disclaimer that those genuinely fleeing from their lives will always be offered shelter in the UK. Well, there can be no clearer case of that than the Afghan Triples.

Were it not for the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 by an international coalition in the aftermath of 9/11, there would be no Triples and no claims for asylum. They seek to come here because the West went there and upended their lives.

They are not “economic migrants”, “illegals” or “bogus asylum seekers” but people who served with crown forces in a long and pitiless campaign, and it is not their fault that the war was lost. Some say they may be the latest victims of the Taliban. The debt the West owes them must be repaid before it is too late.