An Afghan man who assisted British forces for more than a decade has told of the ‘very scary’ situation as he awaits resettlement after the Taliban murdered his dad and one-year-old son.
The former interpreter and firefighter, who does not wish to be named for his safety, told Metro.co.uk he is in hiding in a village that is riddled with spies reporting anyone associated with the UK and US to the insurgents.
Together with his wife and five surviving children, he is awaiting a flight to London within days as Afghan security forces, backed by US air strikes, try to arrest the Taliban’s advance into provincial capitals.
The former translator said: ‘After I received some death threats my son was poisoned and they tried to kidnap him but did not succeed.
‘They entered my house and dragged my wife by her hair to the gate and warned my father about my work with British forces.
‘My father told me to escape to my father-in-law’s house at another village in Kabul, but they found me there as well. Finally, they killed my father and my son. They shot him in the chest three times and my son was crawling by the gate. The Taliban were on motorbikes and asked my nephews if he was related to me and when they said yes they shot him in the forehead.
‘Now I am having to change my house every week.
‘It is a nightmare here for me now.’
The emboldened insurgents have swept across rural areas as the UK and US complete their withdrawal from the country.
The 37-year-old worked as an interpreter in Sangin, Helmand province, between 2009 and 2010. The role included translating Taliban radio communications for British forces.
He then returned to Kabul, his home city, to become a firefighter for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) at Hamid Karzai International Airport, where he spent another six years.
In March 2015, the civilian received one of several citations from ISAF personnel praising him for his efforts, which reads: ‘During his time working for NATO he has attended numerous incidents and become skilled and extremely experienced at his trade.’
The man then worked as a firefighter team leader and instructor for the Alokozay Group of Companies.
He told Metro.co.uk how he has been hunted by the Taliban following his return to Kabul, despite the capital being regarded as the most secure place in the country with the high-security green zone. He still owns the house where the Taliban killed his son and 68-year-old dad, but drifts between different addresses with his wife and young children.
The man said he has completed biometric and DNA tests as part of his family’s resettlement application and was awaiting a date for his flight.
He and his family are staying indoors and changing their address every week amid a perilous security situation, which includes ferocious battles in the southern Helmand province, which was previously held by British forces.
The public servant, who resigned from his firefighter role earlier this month after being granted resettlement, said: ‘It is a very, very scary situation, my village is full of Taliban right now, they have rented houses and they are living like villagers, no one can recognise them.
‘We don’t have the army here, only a small group of police. The Taliban spies are looking for people who have worked for the Government, ISAF, the British and foreigners and they are reporting them to the Taliban.
‘The Taliban are threatening the people as well as their families and during the night they are killing people who have worked with foreigners. They are spying on the people’s children and parents as well, as they did for me.’
The British Government has been accused of abandoning former interpreters and other ex-staff whose lives are in danger after assisting Western forces over two decades in Afghanistan.
Many are said to have been told they are ineligible for repatriation because they were dismissed for trivial misdemeanours or did not work directly for the UK.
The Ministry of Defence has made a commitment to ‘significantly accelerate’ relocations through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which is not time limited and prioritises those most at risk.
Other support, including security advice, financial assistance and relocation to safe areas within Afghanistan, is being provided, according to the UK Government.
A spokesperson said: ‘Nobody’s life should be put at risk because they supported the UK Government in Afghanistan.
‘Our Afghan relocation policy is one of the most generous in the world and has already supported over 2,700 former Afghan staff and their families to start new lives in the UK, with more than 1,000 of them arriving over the last few weeks alone.
‘As we continue to significantly accelerate the pace of relocations, hundreds more will follow. We carefully assess each application for relocation under the criteria of the ARAP.
‘Those who were dismissed for serious offences, including those that constitute a crime in the UK or threatened the safety and security of British troops, will continue to be excluded.’
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