A man identified as Hamid worked for the Afghan national police special unit and received commendations from senior British officials for his service. His identity was exposed in a 2022 Ministry of Defence leak that inadvertently revealed details of approximately 18,700 Afghans who had collaborated with or worked for the British government.
Following the data breach, Hamid reported receiving multiple threats from the Taliban, including a threatening video he shared with media outlets. Despite the security risks he faces, his application for resettlement under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme has been rejected. The Ministry of Defence determined in its most recent decision on 31 July that he had not provided sufficient evidence of working directly with UK government departments, and he was given 28 days to submit an appeal.
Hamid has stated that he provided extensive documentation of his service and noted that several former colleagues who worked in the same unit and performed identical duties have been successfully resettled in the UK through the scheme. He expressed concerns about the inconsistency in how applications are evaluated and questioned whether he must face capture or death before his service is recognized.
The Arap scheme was launched on 1 April 2021 and closed to new applications on 1 July last year, though previously submitted applications continue to be processed. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson indicated that each case is assessed individually based on evidence of support for the UK mission in Afghanistan. The UK has resettled approximately 39,000 Afghan individuals through various resettlement schemes since the Taliban takeover.
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