KABUL: The Taliban government has denied arresting or monitoring Afghans connected to a secret British resettlement plan following a recent data breach.
The UK government revealed earlier this week that thousands of Afghans who worked with British forces were relocated under a confidential scheme after their safety was compromised in a 2022 data leak.
The resettlement programme remained undisclosed until the UK High Court lifted a super-gag order on Tuesday, allowing media coverage. UK Defence Minister John Healey explained that the secrecy was necessary to prevent the Taliban from accessing the leaked data and endangering Afghan lives.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Afghan government’s deputy spokesman, dismissed reports of arrests or surveillance in a voice message to journalists. “Nobody has been arrested for their past actions, nobody has been killed, and nobody is being monitored for that,“ he stated.
Fitrat also denied allegations that the Taliban were investigating individuals named in the leaked documents. “Reports of investigation and monitoring of a few people whose data has been leaked are false,“ he said.
Following their return to power in 2021, the Taliban’s Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, declared a general amnesty for Afghans who had collaborated with NATO forces or the former Western-backed government. Fitrat reiterated this stance, saying, “We don’t need to use the leaked documents from Britain. Regarding the general amnesty, nobody is investigated or monitored.”
He further accused unnamed parties of spreading fear among affected families, calling the rumours baseless. “The rumours being spread are just to scare these people and create fear and worry among their families, which we deny.” - AFP
