Maajid Nawaz moved by letter from Afghan interpreter in hiding

21 September 2021, 15:48

Maajid Nawaz reflects on the Afghan interpreter data breach

By Seán Hickey

Maajid Nawaz hit out against the government's management of the Afghanistan withdrawal after reading a letter from someone stranded in Kabul.

Maajid Nawaz reflected on the news that the Ministry of Defence inadvertently revealed personal details of hundreds of Afghan interpreters, which has compromised those stuck in the nation after the NATO withdrawal.

"I have friends stuck out there whose lives will remain unknown as to whether they get out or not," Maajid said, before reading a letter he received from an interpreter currently stranded in Kabul:

"I'm currently stuck in Kabul. and the British Embassy couldn't evacuate us. I'm also writing to you about my concern for my father, mother, sisters and my aunt who are currently in hiding in Kabul with myself and my children as a result of the current situation we're all aware of."

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"I was reported to the Taliban by their informers, that I had worked for the UK," Maajid continued.

"They've also accused me and my family of being atheists."

Maajid was clearly upset by the account, asking for the forgiveness of LBC listeners.

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He continued to read the letter: "We are all certain of the risk of being captured by the Taliban."

The letter ended with a personal plea to Maajid: "Find a way to get my family out of Afghanistan, please."

A furious Maajid then took aim at the West's management of the withdrawal.

"These are people that trusted us. These are people who trusted our government and our armed forces. These are people that risked everything to defend our way of life."

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Maajid was baffled that the government hadn't taken action on failures in the withdrawal: "Nobody has been held responsible for this travesty. Nobody has resigned. We have droned an innocent family of ten in Kabul, nobody has resigned."

"Nobody will take responsibility because this government, and their counterparts in the United States of America believe they are untouchable, they believe they are unimpeachable and they are untouched by the suffering of people who have shed blood, sweat and tears to keep our way of life preserved."

"They think they can apologise, make a reshuffle happen and hope that you will all forget about the fact that we have abandoned our allies behind enemy lines."

"Now to rub salt into the wounds, we have handed them the names of every single one of those who risked everything to keep us safe. This is a travesty."