MONITORING DESK
ISLAMABAD: Some 50 Afghan contractors who served for the British Council, the UK’s overseas organization for cultural opportunities, are to be relocated to the UK after passing security checks, The Guardian reported.
The decision to rescue the contractors, who were forced into hiding following the Taliban takeover, comes as part of the UK’s Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.
Many previous contractors of Western organizations in Afghanistan have spent the last 18 months moving between safe locations after being pursued by Taliban operatives.
Like British Council contractors, former employees of GardaWorld who protected the British Embassy in Kabul, and alumni of the Chevening scholarship, are also being included in the scheme.
The recent move to relocate the 47 British Council contractors was followed by controversy over corrected claims by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe Leo Docherty in Parliament.
Leo Docherty claimed that almost half of the total group of 190 British Council contractors had been given the green signal to travel to the UK through Pakistan, along with 300 relatives. Among these, 85 contractors were classified as at very high risk, whereas 90 were designated as high risk.
UK on Relocation of Contractors
Foreign Office of UK later corrected Docherty’s claims in comments to The Guardian, adding that though the contractors were eligible to relocate “in principle,” however, more steps were required before they could board flights to Britain.
“UK has started notifying eligible individuals that have cleared security checks and are advising them for the next steps,” a Foreign Office statement said.
Conservative MP John Baron, who leads the Parliament group on the British Council, has begun a campaign to relocate the Afghan contractors. He said: “If some 200 people and their families assisted us, and it’s the same with GardaWorld and Chevening, then we need to reach out and help those 200 people. Baron criticized the Foreign Office’s correction of Docherty’s claims.
