Kabul: The Taliban government stated on Thursday that it has not detained or monitored Afghans connected to a covert British resettlement program, following a recent data breach.
This program, designed to relocate thousands of Afghans who assisted the UK, came to light after a data leak in 2022 put many lives in danger. The UK government revealed the details on Tuesday, following a High Court decision that removed a restriction preventing reporting on the issue.
UK Defence Minister John Healey explained that the data leak had been kept under wraps to protect Afghans from potential retaliation by the Taliban.
“Currently, nobody has been arrested for their past roles, and no one is being watched or targeted,” said Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, during a news briefing. He emphasized that claims about investigations or monitoring based on the leaked data are false.
After the Taliban regained control in 2021, their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, offered an amnesty to those who had worked with NATO or the previous government during the long conflict.
Fitrat added that all related documents are safely held in various ministries within the Afghan government, asserting that they do not rely on the leaked UK documents. He also accused others of spreading rumors that aim to instill fear among the Afghan population and their families.
