Afghan heroes were let down by Britain – and are now at Putin’s mercy

It is as bizarre as it is tragic. British-trained Afghan special forces who fought alongside the allies in the long war against the Taliban are now being recruited by the Russians to fight against Ukraine – a British ally struggling for its freedom.

Effectively betrayed by their UK former comrades and mentors, many of these Afghan elite troops have found themselves in exile in Iran – a murderous regime too, but one where they have a better chance of avoiding torture and execution than in their homeland.

It is also somewhere the Kremlin looks to for military assistance. Hence the offers to the Afghan veterans of contracts to fight as mercenaries in Mr Putin’s war. The Russians, we know, are none too fussy about tapping up their few reliable friends in the world to boost their military ranks.

Some 1,000 days in and President Putin’s “special military operation”, which was supposed to have lasted until the end of spring 2022, has degenerated into a grinding campaign of attrition, where civilians are targeted as much as the enemy’s military. In every one of the theatres of war, Russia needs to gain an edge – and these elite Afghan soldiers may prove especially valuable in Kursk, where Ukrainian troops continue to hold ground.

Unlike the Russian and North Korean conscripts, by all accounts badly trained and poorly equipped, the Afghan fighters know what they’re doing, and how to make the most of what they’re given in the way of equipment. They will know how the British have trained Ukrainian forces and the weapons they use. Like all special forces, they can inflict damage far out of proportion to their modest numerical strength. The arrival of these Afghan soldiers will not be good news for President Zelensky’s war effort.

The Independent is proud to have campaigned for them to be offered asylum in the UK, with notable successes, but far too many have been left behind. In a particularly gruesome case of the law of unintended consequences, this neglect has left them vulnerable to the entreaties of Mr Putin’s agents, well established in Iran with the blessing of the ayatollahs. These former Afghan soldiers, the best of the best, have all the training, experience and bravery that the Kremlin so desperately lacks as it tries to gain as much ground as it can before a ceasefire.

The task now is to rescue them from their hiding places in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan before they are either “turned” to fight for a new British enemy, or captured, tortured and murdered. A salary of some $3,000 per month is unimaginably lavish to these impoverished, desperate people. They need to be given other options. It has always been the right thing to do, as a matter of honour; but now it is also a question of Ukrainian national security and, thus, the British national interest.

The latest investigation by The Independent, in collaboration with investigative newsroom Lighthouse Reports and Afghan news outlet Etilaat Roz, finds that while the Afghans’ wait drags on, Britain’s adversaries are not wasting time. Thus far, the Afghans have not succumbed to the blandishments on offer from Moscow; but the continuing delays in processing their asylum claims are adding to the pressures on them.

The same obstacles have appeared as those that stymied previous efforts to secure refuge for the “Triples” – so-called after their regimental designation numbers. Interdepartmental wrangling about the various ill-designed special Afghan asylum schemes has been one factor in the delays. The new Labour government, disappointingly, seems just as slow as its predecessor; with the present minister responsible, Luke Pollard, making the same excuses and issuing similar apologies.

There are rumours that the slow pace has been linked to resistance by UK special forces, concerned about the testimony the Afghans might offer about war crimes during the previous campaign once they are in Britain and available to be interviewed. At the moment, those Afghans whose claims are being rejected are not even being informed of the outcome.

Plainly, this is intolerable and unsustainable – not least because the Iranians and Pakistanis will eventually try to deport their unwelcome guests back to Kabul. Given that, even a stint on the front line in Kursk may feel like an attractive option.