For all the fine words from ministers, very little is being done for those most at risk from Taliban retribution
As the Taliban started searching their neighbourhood, Abdul and his wife began to hide with different relatives across Kabul. One night they narrowly escaped, fleeing through a back door. Abdul is still carrying the job records and ID documents that could be their only ticket out. But if the Taliban find them first, those same papers could prove a death sentence.
Talking yesterday via a patchy WhatsApp connection, Abdul told me how he’s been on the run on and off ever since 2012, when he last worked as an interpreter for the British army in Helmand. His was the most dangerous, visible job: scanning locations for traps and other dangers before heavily armoured British troops moved in. Eventually, after threats from distant Taliban relatives, he fled.