Afghan interpreter tells of fear Taliban will kill him after UK blocks entry

'Omar' spoke to The National from his hiding place in Afghanistan

British troops mentoring the Afghan National Army while conducting security operations in Helmand Province in 2021. Getty Images

The strain of living in hiding from the Taliban has taken its toll on Omar, a former interpreter for the UK and American military, who hasn’t dared to venture outside since they seized power.

“I’m on edge every day. I feel 100 per cent that when they find me they will kill me,” he told The National, speaking from a secret location, which he regularly changes to stay one step ahead of his pursuers, in Afghanistan.

Since the US and UK pulled out their troops, their former interpreters have been the targets of retaliation by the Taliban, prompting many to resettle in the two countries.

But others continue to face legal battles to come to the UK, including Omar, a name The National has used to conceal his identity.

This week Omar lost the latest round in his legal battle to be allowed to settle in the UK with his wife and two children, under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy.

He worked for UK and US forces until 2011 and applied to resettle under ARAP in October 2021.

Despite previously winning a judicial review after the Home Office claimed Omar posed a risk to national security, the High Court has now backed the original decision and rejected his claim.

The court heard he had released sensitive information while working for the US in Afghanistan and when challenged had threatened to kill coalition troops. Asked directly about the allegations, Omar denied that he had done either and said they have never been raised directly with him.

“When I was working with the US and British military I did my work honestly and with integrity. I’ve never threatened to kill anybody. That’s not within my nature,” he said.

“I’ve been living in Afghanistan since I left the forces but why haven’t they raised this issue with me before? Why are they raising it with me now, when I need them the most?

“I believe there’s been a huge misunderstanding and I don’t even know what it’s about and how it came about.”

He said he finds it ironic that while he is living in fear in Afghanistan, others from his country are making their way to the UK by small boat.

“There are channels available where there are some Talibans and people who are genuinely a risk to the UK public who have slipped through the net and have arrived to the UK and whose cases are feted. But my case isn’t and I don’t understand what the hold-up is about.”

For now, he remains in hiding, moving from house to house, relying on handouts from friends and family to survive, with little to fill his day other than find a way out.

“I can’t work and just my wife is going to get some things for us but I’m not going out because the Taliban intelligence are looking for interpreters.

“In order to watch TV or read a book you need to concentrate but I’ve not had any peace in my mind for the last two years so all I focus on is survival. The way I pass my day is to try to find ways of out of the country.”

But there are times when he feels overwhelmed by his situation, especially not being able to play with his children like an ordinary father. It’s during these times when he has “these dark thoughts”.

“My situation has not just affected me but my whole family. My children have not been going to school and it’s really having an emotional toll on them.

“They can’t go to the park like other children because I don’t want to risk their lives because any outing could be dangerous for us. They can’t go alone so they need their father to go out with them but their father can’t take them out. They are very sad.

“There are days when I look at my children and feel great sadness and just want to end it all but I know that if I do that then my wife and children will have to fend for themselves.”

During his time with the UK and US military he “stood should-by-shoulder in the battles against the Taliban”.

“I put my life at risk and also my family’s life at risk but the way they are dealing with me now, it’s really shameful. I’ve regretted a lot that I’ve worked with them,” he said.

“At the time when I need them the most, when my life is at risk and my family’s life is at risk, they’re not trying to help me.”

His lawyer Qays Sediqi said the unexpected High Court decision left him “equally as shocked as I am appalled”.

Referring to Omar by the name used on court documents to protect his client he said: “I understand this case on a more personal level because, I have known FMA and his family for nearly two years.

“I know what difficulties him and his family are facing in Afghanistan. He always tells me that he is living in hell. At a time when he needs us the most, he is being let down and further criminalised.”

Mr Sediqi said he was “exploring whether there are any merits to challenge the High Court’s decision and hopefully we will be able to help FMA get the right decision”.

The Sulha Alliance campaigns for the resettlement of Afghan interpreters in the UK and was formed by former UK soldiers who worked with them.

Peter Gordon-Finlayson, a spokesman for the group, told The National a lack of detail in Omar's case and other similar ones makes it difficult to assess the accusations fairly.

“As an organisation that’s partially made up of veterans we hold national security as the highest priority,” he said.

But the concern of the group is that the UK’s Ministry of Defence provides the government with information to allow settlement under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme which is then overturned by the Home Office on national security grounds.

The ex-Army Officer, who was deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand Province for a six-month tour of duty in 2011, said more context was needed to judge the current case fairly.

“We’re all for the right call being made but we just want to make sure that the appropriate level of scrutiny during that process is being applied.

“There needs to be proper scrutiny rather than a throwaway or flippant comment that’s then used against someone.”