Latest news with #UKHighCourt
Business Recorder
7 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Taliban deny arresting or monitoring Afghans after UK data leak
KABUL: The Taliban government said Thursday it had not arrested or monitored Afghans involved in a secret British resettlement plan after a data breach was revealed this week. Thousands of Afghans who worked with the United Kingdom were brought to Britain with their families in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the UK government revealed on Tuesday. The scheme was only revealed after the UK High Court lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events. UK Defence Minister John Healey said the leak was not revealed because of the risk that the Taliban authorities would obtain the data set and the lives of Afghans would be put at risk. 'Nobody has been arrested for their past actions, nobody has been killed and nobody is being monitored for that,' the Afghan government's deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, told reporters Thursday. 'Reports of investigation and monitoring of a few people whose data has been leaked are false.' After the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, their Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada announced an amnesty for Afghans who worked for NATO forces or the ousted foreign-backed government during the two-decade conflict. 'All their information and documents are present here in the Defence ministry, Interior ministry and Intelligence,' Fitrat added. 'We don't need to use the leaked documents from Britain.' He said 'rumours' were being spread to create fear among Afghans and their families.
NDTV
7 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Taliban Government Denies Monitoring Citizens After UK Data Leak
The Taliban government said Thursday it had not arrested or monitored Afghans involved in a secret British resettlement plan after a data breach was revealed this week. Thousands of Afghans who worked with the United Kingdom were brought to Britain with their families in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the UK government revealed on Tuesday. The scheme was only revealed after the UK High Court lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events. UK Defence Minister John Healey said the leak was not revealed because of the risk that the Taliban authorities would obtain the data set and the lives of Afghans would be put at risk. "Nobody has been arrested for their past actions, nobody has been killed and nobody is being monitored for that," the Afghan government's deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, told reporters Thursday. "Reports of investigation and monitoring of a few people whose data has been leaked are false." After the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, their Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada announced an amnesty for Afghans who worked for NATO forces or the ousted foreign-backed government during the two-decade conflict. "All their information and documents are present here in the Defence ministry, Interior ministry and Intelligence," Fitrat added. "We don't need to use the leaked documents from Britain." He said "rumours" were being spread to create fear among Afghans and their families. Around 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have now been brought to Britain or are in transit under the programme known as the Afghan Response Route, at a cost of around $535 million, Healey said. They are among some 36,000 Afghans who have been accepted by Britain under different schemes since the August 2021 fall of Kabul. Tens of thousands of Afghans fled Afghanistan in a chaotic weeks-long evacuation when the Taliban won their insurgency, after the mass withdrawal of international troops and air support to the country. Tens of thousands more have been resettled under European and US asylum schemes, which after four years have now slowed to almost a halt. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in 2023 that there were credible reports of serious human rights violations by the Taliban authorities against hundreds of former government officials and former armed forces members. From the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021 to 30 June 2023, UNAMA documented at least 800 instances of extrajudicial killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearance, it said in a report. The Taliban's Foreign Affairs Ministry denied the allegations and said all former employees had been pardoned. The Taliban government has imposed a severe interpretation of Islamic law, which has seen women and girls banned from most education and jobs.
L'Orient-Le Jour
7 days ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Taliban denies arresting or monitoring Afghans after UK data leak
The Taliban government said Thursday it had not arrested or monitored Afghans involved in a secret British resettlement plan after a data breach was revealed this week. Thousands of Afghans who worked with the UK were brought to Britain with their families in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the British government revealed on Tuesday. The scheme was only revealed after the UK High Court on Tuesday lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events. UK Defence Minister John Healey said the leak was not revealed because of the risk that the Taliban authorities would obtain the data set and the lives of Afghans would be put at risk. "Nobody has been arrested for their past actions, nobody has been killed and nobody is being monitored for that," said the Afghan government's deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, in a voice message to reporters on Thursday. "Reports of investigation and monitoring of a few people whose data has been leaked are false." After the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, their Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada announced an amnesty for Afghans who worked for NATO forces or the ousted foreign-backed government during the two-decade conflict. "We don't need to use the leaked documents from Britain. Regarding the general amnesty, nobody is investigated or monitored," Fitrat added. "The rumours being spread are just to scare these people and create fear and worry among their families, which we deny."
The Sun
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Taliban denies monitoring Afghans after UK data leak
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
Express Tribune
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Thousands of Afghans win UK asylum
Thousands of Afghans who worked with the UK and their families were brought to Britain in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the British government revealed on Tuesday. Defence Minister John Healey unveiled the scheme to parliament after the UK High Court on Tuesday lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events. In February 2022, a spreadsheet containing the names and details of almost 19,000 Afghans who had asked to be relocated to Britain was accidentally leaked by a UK official just six months after Taliban fighters seized Kabul, Healey said. "This was a serious departmental error," Healey said, adding: "Lives may have been at stake." The previous Conservative government put in place a secret programme in April 2024 to help those "judged to be at the highest risk of reprisals by the Taliban", he said. Some 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have now been brought to Britain or are in transit under the programme known as the Afghan Response Route, at a cost of around £400 million ($535 million), Healey said. Applications from 600 more people have also been accepted, bringing the estimated total cost of the scheme to £850 million. They are among some 36,000 Afghans who have been accepted by Britain under different schemes since the August 2021 fall of Kabul. As Labour's opposition defence spokesman, Healey was briefed on the scheme in December 2023 but the Conservative government asked a court to impose a "super-injunction" banning any mention of it in parliament or by the press. When Labour came to power in July 2024, the scheme was in full swing but Healey said he had been "deeply uncomfortable to be constrained from reporting" to parliament. "Ministers decided not to tell parliamentarians at an earlier stage about the data incident, as the widespread publicity would increase the risk of the Taliban obtaining the dataset," he explained. Healey set up a review of the scheme when he became defence minister in the new Labour government. This concluded there was "very little evidence of intent by the Taliban to conduct a campaign of retribution". The Afghan Response Route has now been closed, the minister said, apologising for the data breach which "should never have happened". He estimated the total cost of relocating people from Afghanistan to Britain at between £5.5 billion to £6 billion.
