LONDON: One of the UK’s programs to house Afghan refugees has resettled just four people since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August last year, The Independent reported.
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, one of two UK government programs for the urgent relocation of vulnerable Afghan refugees, aimed to resettle 5,000 people in Britain within its first year of operation.
However, Home Office data shows that while about 6,500 Afghans had been welcomed as part of a second scheme — the Afghan Relocation Assistance Policy — only four had been resettled as part of ACRS.
The more successful ARAP targeted Afghans who worked with and supported British military operations during the country’s near two-decade civil war.
ACRS, which launched in January, aims to help Afghans who “assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for values such as democracy, freedom of speech, and rule of law,” the government said.
Unlike ARAP, the scheme receives referrals for vulnerable Afghans directly from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Due to safety issues within Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, many of the potential targets of the scheme have already fled to neighboring countries, including Pakistan and Iran.
They have since been left in limbo, however, awaiting responses from the UK government amid warning calls from the UNHCR.
A former high-ranking Afghan prosecutor who has resided in Pakistan since the fall of Kabul has been unable to relocate to the UK despite having family members there.
He said: “I am constantly terrified; I am worried that I will go to jail. I don’t know what is going to happen.”
His lawyer, Deena Patel, said that the prosecutor’s case had been referred to the UNHCR but that progress has been slow.
She added: “The number of four Afghans (relocated through ACRS) is highly believable. The prosecutor’s case was a strong case on merit.
“He should have been relocated under pathway two, but he’s been waiting months on end.
“This is just taking way too long. The UNHCR have to do a refugee assessment in each case, if they are not even speeding up this process then they are not going to make a referral to the Home Office.
“We know the crisis that this is causing — a large proportion of those arriving (in the UK) illegally are Afghans. What can you do if there is no legal route?”
The opposition Labour Party’s shadow immigration minister, Stephen Kinnock, said: “Britain owes a debt of gratitude to courageous Afghans who served British interests in Afghanistan, and it is a debt that must be honored.
“UN figures show that since last summer at least 160 Afghans have been killed through reprisal attacks.”
The government “must urgently clear the asylum backlog at home, while working more effectively with the UNHCR to keep the promise they made last autumn to bring vulnerable Afghans to safety,” he added.
Mary Atkinson, campaigns officer at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, described the latest Home Office ACRS figures as “disgraceful.”
She added: “We shouldn’t allow this government to get away with its shameful abandonment of the Afghan people — we need a fully functioning Afghan resettlement scheme now.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has made one of the largest commitments to support Afghanistan of any country and, so far, we have brought more than 22,800 vulnerable Afghans to safety.
“However, the situation is complex and presents us with significant challenges, including safe passage out of the country for those who want to leave and who are eligible for resettlement in the UK.”
UK refugee scheme resettled just 4 Afghans since Taliban takeover, data shows
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UK refugee scheme resettled just 4 Afghans since Taliban takeover, data shows
- Program aimed to resettle 5,000 vulnerable people during first year of operation
- Second policy for Afghans who supported the UK military has helped 6,500 people
Pro-Palestinian protest leader defiant despite US deportation threat
- The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat
NEWARK, United States: Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent leaders of US pro-Palestinian campus protests, pledged Saturday to keep campaigning after he was released from a federal detention center.
“Even if they would kill me, I would still speak for Palestine,” Khalil said as he was greeted by cheering supporters at Newark airport, just outside New York City.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody since March facing potential deportation.
He was freed from a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday, hours after a judge ordered his release on bail.
The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat.
“Just the fact I am here sends a message — the fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now,” said Khalil, who is still fighting his potential expulsion from the United States.
He spoke alongside his wife Noor Abdalla, who gave birth to the couple’s first child while Khalil was in detention, as well as Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Mahmoud Khalil was imprisoned for 104 days by this administration, by the Trump administration, with no grounds and for political reasons, because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“This is not over, and we will have to continue to support this case,” she added.
Khalil, who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, is not allowed to leave the United States except for “self-deportation” under the terms of his release.
He also faces restrictions on where he can travel within the country.
President Donald Trump’s government has justified pushing for Khalil’s deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
Beyond his legal case, Khalil’s team fears he could face threats out of detention.
“We are very mindful about his security, and the irony is that he is the one being persecuted,” Baher Azmy, one of his lawyers, told AFP.
“But he is committed to peace and because he is rejecting US government policy he is under threat,” Azmy added, without elaborating on any security measures in place for Khalil and his family.
Pro-Palestinian protest leader defiant despite US deportation threat
NEWARK, United States: Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent leaders of US pro-Palestinian campus protests, pledged Saturday to keep campaigning after he was released from a federal detention center.
“Even if they would kill me, I would still speak for Palestine,” Khalil said as he was greeted by cheering supporters at Newark airport, just outside New York City.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody since March facing potential deportation.
He was freed from a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday, hours after a judge ordered his release on bail.
The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat.
“Just the fact I am here sends a message — the fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now,” said Khalil, who is still fighting his potential expulsion from the United States.
He spoke alongside his wife Noor Abdalla, who gave birth to the couple’s first child while Khalil was in detention, as well as Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Mahmoud Khalil was imprisoned for 104 days by this administration, by the Trump administration, with no grounds and for political reasons, because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“This is not over, and we will have to continue to support this case,” she added.
Khalil, who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, is not allowed to leave the United States except for “self-deportation” under the terms of his release.
He also faces restrictions on where he can travel within the country.
President Donald Trump’s government has justified pushing for Khalil’s deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
Beyond his legal case, Khalil’s team fears he could face threats out of detention.
“We are very mindful about his security, and the irony is that he is the one being persecuted,” Baher Azmy, one of his lawyers, told AFP.
“But he is committed to peace and because he is rejecting US government policy he is under threat,” Azmy added, without elaborating on any security measures in place for Khalil and his family.
Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches across Europe
- Saturday’s marches comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel’s strikes against Iran
LONDON: Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in European cities Saturday calling for an end to the war in Gaza, amid concerns the Iran-Israel conflict could spark wider regional devastation.
In London, AFP journalists saw tens of thousands of protesters, who waved Palestinian flags as they marched through the British capital clad in keffiyeh scarves.
In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the center of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures.
And in the Swiss capital Bern, march organizers estimated that 20,000 people rallied in front of the national parliament, urging the government to back a ceasefire.
There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza.
This Saturday, protesters there carried signs including “Stop arming Israel” and “No war on Iran” as they marched in the sweltering heat.
“It’s important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now,” said 34-year-old Harry Baker.
“I don’t have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation.” This was his third pro-Palestinian protest, he added.
Saturday’s marches comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel’s strikes against Iran.
Tehran said Saturday that more than 400 people had been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies.
Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures.
One marcher in London, a 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was “scared.”
“I’m worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it’s still my country. I’m scared,” she said.
Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade.
Gaza’s civil defense agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites.
“People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That’s where the genocide is happening,” said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus.
In Berlin, demonstrators gathered mid-afternoon close to the parliament, some chanting “Germany finances, Israel bombs.”
“You can’t sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up,” said protester Gundula, who did not want to give her second name.
For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the “genocide currently taking place” and the “dirty work” being done by the German government.
In Bern, demonstrators carried banners calling on the federal government to intervene in the war in Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
The rally there was called by organizations including Amnesty International, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Swiss Trade Union Federation.
Slogans included “Stop the occupation,” “Stop the starvation, stop the violence,” and “Right to self-determination.”
Some marchers chanted: “We are all the children of Gaza.”
The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.
Israel has denied it is carrying out a genocide and says it aims to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people.
Belarus opposition leader freed from jail after US mediation
- His wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said the US helped broker the deal and thanked US President Donald Trump
- Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years
WARSAW: Belarus’s top jailed opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky was freed alongside over a dozen other political prisoners on Saturday in a surprise release hailed as a “symbol of hope.”
His wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition after his jailing, said the United States helped broker the deal and thanked US President Donald Trump.
Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years.
He planned to run against incumbent Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote.
Svetlana — a political novice at the time of his arrest — took his place in the polls.
She posted a video on Saturday of her embracing Tikhanovsky after his release with the caption: “FREE.”
“It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she said in a post on X.
Thirteen others were released, including Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, who was arrested in 2023 and jailed for participating in an “extremist” organization.
They have now been transferred from Belarus to Lithuania, where they are receiving “proper care,” Lithuanian foreign minister Kestutis Budrys said.
The announcement came just hours after Lukashenko met US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk, the highest profile visit of a US official to the authoritarian state in years.
Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties and is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment.
The eastern European country still holds over 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to Viasna.
Swedish-Belarusian citizen Galina Krasnyanskaya, arrested in 2023 for allegedly supporting Ukraine, was also freed, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.
The release comes amid a broader warming of relations between the United States and Belarus’s chief ally Russia under Trump.
Since taking office, the Republican has engaged in direct talks with Vladimir Putin, ending his predecessor’s policy of isolating the Russian president.
Tikhanovsky was for years held incommunicado, and in 2023 his wife was told that he had “died.”
In a video published by Viasna on Saturday, he appeared almost unrecognizable, his head shaven and face emaciated.
Tikhanovsky was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for “organizing riots” and “inciting hatred” and then to 18 months extra for “insubordination.”
A charismatic activist, Tikhanovsky drew the ire of authorities for describing Lukashenko as a “cockroach” and his campaign slogan was “Stop the cockroach.”
Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in the 2020 election, a result that sparked massive opposition protests which authorities violently suppressed.
The Belarusian autocrat claimed a record seventh term in elections earlier this year that observers blasted as a farce.
Fellow Belarusian political activists and foreign politicians welcomed the release.
Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the “free world” needed Tikhanovsky.
“My sincerest joy goes out to you, Tikhanovskaya and your entire family,” he wrote on X.
Former Belarusian culture minister Pavel Latushko, who supported the 2020 protests against Lukashenko, said all those released had been jailed illegally and hailed Tikhanovsky’s release as an “important moment.”
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed Tikhanovsky’s release and called for Belarus to free its other political prisoners.
“This is fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka regime,” she said on X.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Tikhanovsky’s release was “fantastically good news.”
“At the same time, we must not forget the many other prisoners in Belarus. Lukashenko must finally release them,” he said on X.
Pakistan recommends Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
- Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has decided to formally recommend US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for his “decisive diplomatic intervention” during last month’s India-Pakistan military standoff, it said on Saturday.
The statement came after Trump took credit for a peace deal negotiated in Washington between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and complained he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo.
Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.
Indian officials have denied that Trump played any part in their country’s ceasefire with Pakistan.
In a post on X, the Pakistani government said President Trump demonstrated “great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation last month.”
It continued: “This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue.”
The military standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbors was triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied complicity.
The four-day standoff raised fears of wider conflict between the South Asian rivals who have fought multiple wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir. Trump offered to mediate the Kashmir dispute between the neighbors.
On Friday, the US president predicted that Washington would be able to negotiate trade deals with both India and Pakistan.
“We did a very great job with India and Pakistan, and we had India in, and it looks like we’re going to be making a trade deal with India,” he told reporters in New Jersey. “And we had Pakistan in, and it looks like we’re going to be making a trade deal with Pakistan. And it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”
The Pakistani government said it acknowledged and admired Trump’s offers to help resolve the longstanding Kashmir dispute that lies at the “heart of regional instability.”
“Durable peace in South Asia will remain elusive until the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning Jammu and Kashmir,” it said.
The government added this it hopes Trump’s “pragmatic diplomacy and effective peace-building” will help resolve various ongoing crises in the Middle East.
“Pakistan remains hopeful that his earnest efforts will continue to contribute toward regional and global stability, particularly in the context of ongoing crises in the Middle East, including the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating escalation involving Iran,” it said.
