United Kingdom Allows Resettlement of Nearly 1,000 Afghan Special Forces Soldiers

The United Kingdom has overturned 884 resettlement refusals involving former members of two elite Afghan special forces units known as the Triples.

This was reported by Forces News.

These are soldiers whose applications were previously rejected but whose cases were reconsidered following a government review. They will be able to remain in the UK under the “Afghan Resettlement and Assistance Program” (ARAP), provided they pass visa checks.

The ARAP program was launched in April 2021 to assist individuals whose lives were at risk due to their cooperation with the British Armed Forces prior to the Taliban’s takeover that same year.

In February 2024, the then-Conservative government acknowledged that some decisions under the program were “insufficiently substantiated” and promised to review 3,100 applications from Triples members who were trained, funded, and operated under the command of British special forces.

Minister for Defence Procurement Luke Pollard stated that the delay in reviewing the cases had become “a source of deep regret and concern.”

“We cannot change what happened in the past, but I am proud of the work we have done to complete this review and fulfill our promise to support those Triples personnel who contributed to the UK’s mission in Afghanistan,” he said.

In 2021, shortly after the evacuation from Afghanistan, the UK Ministry of Defense proposed forming a new regiment from the evacuated Afghan commandos.

It was believed that Afghan special forces, trained with the participation of Western military personnel, unlike the rest of the Afghan army, were sufficiently combat-ready and motivated.