Taliban commander's nephew to be joined in UK by seven Afghan relatives

The nephew, who has not been named beyond his initial S, was granted refugee status in the UK and is set to be joined by his parents, three sisters, a niece, and a nephew - who are all currently living in Turkey, reports the Mail.

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According to articles, none of the seven family members are able to speak English, but have been permitted to join S because it has been deemed unsafe for them to return to Afghanistan.

S is understood to have objected to his uncle, who is a commander within the Taliban - the hardline Islamist militant group which forcefully took over Afghanistan in 2021, but is not recognised as a legitimate rule by most of the world.

As a young man, on his father’s direction, he fled regions where the Taliban was insurgent and travelled to Afghan capital Kabul, but there he was stabbed by two cousins as part of the feud.

Having survived the stabbing, hee then travelled to the UK, where he was given indefinite leave to remain - after a psychotherapist judged that he had post-traumatic stress disorder.

The ruling this month follows a 2023 verdict against the family’s request for asylum, which was made under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The judge said this month: “The relationship between S’s mental health and his contact with his family is at the heart of this claim.

“Only by being reunited with them will he be able to recover and live a meaningful existence.”

The Home Office is, however, lodging an appeal on the grounds that providing for the family would put too high a strain on the public purse.

A statement read: “We have recently moved to suspend the refugee family reunion route, acknowledging the pressures it is putting on local authorities and public services.”