KABUL – Several individuals with alleged Taliban links have been secretly flown to the United Kingdom following a major data breach involving thousands of Afghan asylum applicants, The Standard has reported.
Earlier this month, a British military official mistakenly leaked a database containing the personal details of over 100,000 Afghans. Many on the list had applied for asylum after working with UK forces in Afghanistan.
The leak sparked fears that the Taliban could use the information as a “kill list” to target dissidents. But it also exposed serious flaws in the UK’s vetting system.
According to The Standard, individuals with known ties to the Taliban were able to enter the UK under Operation Rubicon, a secret airlift program. The initiative has so far relocated around 18,500 Afghans, with nearly 24,000 more expected.
Some of those rescued had previously been denied asylum due to criminal convictions, including for sexual assault and violence. Yet they were later re-admitted under the same program after appearing on the leaked list.
At least four individuals with Taliban affiliations have been identified. One arrived before Kabul’s fall and reportedly used the scheme to bring Taliban-linked relatives. Another, jailed for selling arms to the Taliban, is now living in the UK.
A third is a convicted sex offender whose asylum claim is still being processed. A fourth, a British national, is believed to have helped Taliban sympathisers get evacuated.
Sources say some applicants named Islamic fundamentalists as dependents to secure their passage. One Afghan official said: “They were fighting against British forces… now they are being fed by Brits in London.”
Others accused corrupt Afghan officials of manipulating the system to benefit individuals with extremist ties.
The revelations had been kept under wraps due to a 23-month High Court super-injunction. That restriction was lifted earlier this month.
The UK Ministry of Defence has acknowledged that evacuees brought up to 20 relatives each but has not explained how known extremists bypassed security screening.
Critics warn that the evacuation scheme, designed to protect allies, may have been infiltrated by those who once fought against the UK.
Meanwhile, thousands of eligible Afghans, interpreters, civil servants, and ex-soldiers, remain stranded under Taliban rule or in limbo in Pakistan, still waiting for safe passage.
