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A former interpreter for UK Special Forces has begged Britain to rescue his family after Taliban gunmen knocked on his front door in Kabul.
The Afghan translator, Habib, said his family was saved only by the quick thinking of his 11-year-old daughter, who refused to let in the militants despite them posing as his friends.
After learning of last week’s ordeal, a former British commander in Afghanistan branded the treatment of some ex-military interpreters ‘a disgrace’.
British soldier with former Afghan interpreter Habib, who is waiting to hear if he will be granted sanctuary in the UK. He worked on a Task Force of UK and Afghan Special Forces and is now facing death threats. Habib has twice escaped ambushes
In scathing criticism of the Ministry of Defence, Major General Charlie Herbert said more had to be given sanctuary – and quickly – as those who risked their lives beside UK troops are on ‘borrowed time’ and face death threats.
Commenting on the UK’s decision to pull out of the country after 20 years, along with the US, he said: ‘Leaving Afghanistan without a political settlement is ill-judged, but leaving without our former interpreters and locally employed staff is immoral.’
He said the Ministry of Defence must not leave behind the ‘remarkable Afghan locals who served us so brilliantly, and often with such sacrifice’.
Outspoken criticism from a former senior officer with considerable experience of Afghanistan is rare.
Mr Herbert
