NDS officers who spied for UK troops are now at Taliban's mercy in Afghanistan

Despite being promised safe passage to the UK, a dozen Afghan intelligence officers who spied for British soldiers allege they have been abandoned in the Taliban, Daily Mail reported. The country's National Directorate of Security (NDS), which was dismantled by the Taliban when they captured Kabul in August, employed 11 men and one woman. They are among thousands of Afghans and Britons who have yet to leave the war-torn country.

Because of a disorganised and arbitrary evacuation attempt, Britain's Foreign Office abandoned many of the country's allies in Afghanistan, leaving them at the mercy of the Taliban during the fall of Kabul, according to a whistleblower, AP reported on December 14.

Raphael Marshall testified to a Parliamentary Committee that hundreds of calls for help via email went unanswered between August 21 and August 25. According to the former Foreign Office staffer, only 5% of Afghan people who applied to emigrate under one UK scheme received assistance. He said that he was the sole one checking the inbox at one point.

The reports of spies being abandoned in Afghanistan coincided with news that RAF planes, which could have been used to transport desperate Afghans to the UK from Pakistan, were returning practically empty. Daily Mail reported, citing sources, that Voyager A330 planes solely carried civil servants returning to the UK for the holidays.

Taliban executed more than 100 former NDS officers

According to human rights organisations, the Taliban has executed more than 100 former NDS officers since August. In recent weeks, Voyager A330 planes with a capacity of 291 passengers have been departing with as few as 25 passengers on board, mostly Foreign Office personnel returning home for the holidays. However, the Ministry of Defence claimed Friday night that some of the flights were nearly full, including the last one, which was totally full.

NDS officers carried out surveillance operations for British forces, including covert missions for MI5 and MI6 to infiltrate terrorist organisations such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Their main goal was to uncover terrorist schemes in Afghanistan or against the West. The agents, ranging in rank from colonel to major general, have gone into hiding with their families. British troops bestowed the 'Eagle' honour to one officer for his bravery during secret missions.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Image: AP)