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A whistleblower has told an official investigation that the UK abandoned classified devices permitting the Taliban to track down Afghans that had served with western forces.

Information Leak Endangers Thousands at Risk

The source, known as Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to move homes and change their contact details to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

Members of Parliament are investigating official handling of a massive disclosure of personal details concerning nearly 19,000 Afghans who had asked to move to the United Kingdom to escape militant rule.

How the Leak Was Discovered

A spreadsheet including private information, including identities, phone numbers and sometimes family information, was mistakenly released by a worker working at British military command in last year.

The leak was discovered only in August 2023, when identities of nine people who had applied to relocate to the UK appeared on online platforms.

Militant Technology

“There seems to be a misunderstanding that the Taliban lack the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain mobile details, they are able to track your precise location. That's precisely what intelligence groups did.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban possessed advanced decryption, the whistleblower confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Preliminary research presented to the inquiry suggested that no fewer than forty-nine family members and associates of individuals impacted by the leak had been killed.

A superinjunction concerning the leak was enacted in last year and blocked relevant facts about it from being made public until recently.

Safety Measures

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the aid group she was working with informed Afghan families they were working with that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they relocate if they could and switched their mobile numbers. That constituted the primary information that, if authorities had access to this information, would result in identification and capture,” she said.

Contested Findings

Person A contested that an official review performed by a former official had been incorrect to determine that the possession of the records by the regime was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

Person A described disturbing treatment suffered by at-risk Afghans, including electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and severe beatings.

“We have had toddlers who have had bones crushed to pressure relatives to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.