Afghan whose details were in the violation of British data at risk of Taliban if they are expelled, his son said to the BBC

An Afghan, whose details have been accidentally disclosed by the United Kingdom in a major data violation, was detained in Pakistan for an imminent deportation alongside several family members, his son told the BBC.

The BBC has seen documents that seem to confirm that the man was one of the units of the Afghan special forces which worked alongside the British forces in Afghanistan, known as the Tripple.

The threat of expulsion occurs while Pakistan continues its desire to suppress what they say to be “foreign nationals” to their country.

But the son of the Afghan said that their case was particularly urgent, as if they were expelled in Afghanistan, he fears that they were killed because of the triple association of his father.

The Taliban government says that all Afghans can “live in the country without any fear”. But a UN report entitled “No Safe Haven” which was published last month questioned their insurance on a general amnesty.

The man and his family initially applied to the Afghan Moving and Assistance Policy (ARAP) of the United Kingdom – which was created to move and protect the Afghans who worked with the British forces or the British government in Afghanistan – shortly after the return of the Taliban in August 2021.

The family was in Pakistan pending a final decision on the request – which was approved by the Ministry of Defense last year – when the Pakistani authorities came to take them.

The son of man, Rayan, whose name we change for his safety, told the BBC that he had avoided being gathered after hiding in a hotel bathroom in the capital Islamabad with his wife and grandson while several members of his family were taken to a detention camp.

“Some of my family are only children, the youngest only has eight months, we continued to beg the police to leave them.”

Later, his brother called for camp to say that the officials informed them that they would be expelled, added Rayan.

“My brother told me that they were kept in a room with around 90 other people, and were then distinguished by their name and separated,” said Rayan. “I am so afraid that they will suddenly be expelled.”

Rayan explained that the family has been in the limbo in Pakistan since October 2024, when the family recorded their biometrics.

But they are still waiting.

“We have just waited without explanation. They continued to tell us to wait, and now it is too late,” said Rayan.

A defense ministry spokesman said he is not commenting on individual cases. “We are fully determined to honor our commitments to all eligible people who pass their relevant checks for resettlement,” added the press release.

The situation is made more worrying by the fact that the family details were among those of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied for resettlement in the United Kingdom who were inadvertently disclosed in February 2022. The families involved in the flight feared to make them vulnerable.

Rayan is now terrified that the police will return to hold him, his wife and their child then, and said that he had pleaded with the British High Commissioner of Islamabad to be moved to another hotel for protection.

Calvin Bailey, a Labor MP who worked alongside the Afghan triple as the RAF commander, told the BBC that the situation was “incredibly overwhelming”. He said that Rayan’s father and the triplets were “people we have to help and that we have to duty and we must make sure they receive more than minimal protection”.

Bailey added that he hopes that the British government and high-commissariat are engaged behind the scenes, even if this work is not always public.

Pakistan has a long record of Afghan refugees. But the government previously declared that it had been frustrated by the duration of the move of Afghans in other countries.

The Minister of the Interior of Pakistan, Talal Chaudry, told the BBC that he “should ask the British authorities why they delay these resettlements”.

“It’s been years already,” he said. “Do you really think they will give leniency to the Pakistani nationals who go beyond the United Kingdom?”

Since September 2023, the year in which Pakistan has launched its “repatriation plan for illegal foreigners”, 1,159,812 individuals have returned to Afghanistan, according to the United Nations Migration Agency.

The government has maintained its policy intended for all illegal foreign nationals.

About three million Afghans live in Pakistan, according to the UN refugee agency – including around 600,000 people who came after taking control of the Taliban in 2021. The UN estimates that half is undocumented.

The United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR) has called Pakistan to “ensure that any return from Afghanists to Afghanistan is voluntary, safe and worthy”.

In the midst of police and deportations raids this summer, UNHCR has urged the government “to apply measures to exempt Afghans with continuous international protection needs”.

Additional reports by Usman Zahid