Since before the fall of Kabul, the Government’s treatment of Afghans who worked alongside British troops has been a shameful saga. Ministers have failed to manage ARAP applications, housing promises were broken, data breaches occurred, and Afghans are in limbo fearing for their lives. Former Afghan special forces may face deportation from Pakistan back to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. How many former Afghan special forces are at risk of deportation? What threat assessments exist regarding these individuals and their families? What is the current backlog in ARAP cases? Were assurances received from Pakistan that Afghans will remain safe until relocation to the UK? Will no one pending ARAP or ACRS decisions be sent back to Afghanistan?

I think I am right in saying that the International Security Assistance Force was officially a NATO assistance force to the then Afghan Government, so what is there to prevent NATO countries from banding together and making joint representations to the Pakistani Government that whatever they do with former service personnel who, at our request, fought against the Taliban, they should not now mercilessly deport them to the tender non-mercies of the Taliban, who are currently out for vengeance?

I am sure the Minister will recognise that it is not only Members of the House, but some of his ex-comrades in arms—even people like my own brother, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan—who are deeply concerned about the idea of their former comrades in arms being forced back into the hands of the Taliban. To them, it seems to reflect a reality: there is a lack of clarity about why some people are not getting access to schemes to access the UK, especially those who fled without paperwork—because, as I am sure we can imagine, the Taliban will not be giving ex-special forces any passports anytime soon. I wonder whether the Minister answer two specific points. Does he recognise the reality that ex-special forces from Afghanistan would face if they were given back into the hands of the Taliban? Does he agree that while Pakistan may have the right to do so, it has not always been the best arbiter of relationships with the new regime in Afghanistan and has sometimes gone out of its way to undermine a collective approach to them?

I know from working with the Minister on Operation Pitting the passion that he brings to this work and the deep debt of gratitude he personally owes to those who fought alongside him. He will appreciate the House’s concern that we could see someone who fought alongside our forces forced from Pakistan back to Afghanistan. I take on board his point that the entirety of the special forces worked with the whole mission, and not just with the UK, so what discussions is he having with our allies about perhaps having a quota for moving people over? That is a clumsy way of putting it, but it is the best way I can summarise it. What work is he doing with Home Office resources to ensure that there is no backlog in ARAP places, and what is he doing with colleagues in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that housing is available for those who need to be relocated from Pakistan?

I thank the Minister for his statement. I have a constituent who was a member of the special forces in Afghanistan—I will not name him—and who approached me several months ago about his family stuck in Pakistan. The bureaucracy and disconnection between different parts of Government are astounding. Finally, we have relocated his family to the UK, but it was not an easy process. It took a long time for me to wade through the treacle of the various Government Departments. Who is in charge of that? We have just spent £200 million on the Rwanda resettlement scheme. Surely, putting some money and effort behind the scheme would solve the problem.

I have just come off the phone to a friend who lived in the mountains and worked with the 333. He explained how the Foreign Office paid them through the Ministry of Interior Affairs, but he and his colleagues gave them cash to top up their payments—effectively to pay them special forces pay. He said that the MOD position is “the most ludicrous argument I have heard in my life. If it was not so sad, it would be hilarious.” The 444 worked with every single brigade in Helmand and was described as an indispensable part of Task Force Helmand, doing outreach and reconnaissance. Do the Government not need to take a slightly harder look at this?

I was in Afghanistan at the very beginning with the Triples. It is particularly painful that, despite commitments and assurances from the UK Government, this cohort of Afghans and their families are left fearing for their lives. I listened carefully to what the Minister had to say, but I have seen credible evidence of an individual who served with the Triples and who was rejected for the ARAP scheme by the MOD. He was subsequently arrested by the Taliban, beaten and killed. Does the Minister know of any Triples who have died under similar circumstances? If he does, what more can be done to prevent the loss of life of the heroes we served alongside?

Given the contrast between the rhetoric and promises of resettlement, and the shambolic reality facing many Afghans who worked for us, with us or fought alongside our troops, what assessment has the Minister made of the likely impact of his apparent bad faith on the willingness of foreign nationals to offer us their assistance in future?

Earlier this year, the Minister said that the backlog for ARAP would be cleared by August; exactly how many applications are still outstanding?

Does the assurance given by Islamabad to the Minister regarding personnel who will not be deported extend to their families?

Since hotels where eligible individuals were staying have closed down, how many actually came to the UK? Also, will he undertake to look at cases of individuals wrongly denied ARAP with clear evidence?

Will the Minister meet those with constituency cases to establish whether anyone has been missed out from eligibility under ARAP?

Have any Afghans awaiting an ARAP decision been deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan and are now at risk from the Taliban?

Given that special forces have assisted in standing up for values such as free speech, women’s rights, and the rule of law, would it not be better to use discretion especially when speaking about people who potentially fought with great valour?