The United Kingdom has backed out of a promise to help Afghan refugees reunite with families they were forced to leave behind after the Taliban takeover, despite condemnation of their treatment.
Ministers agreed to act after an outcry over the plight of Afghans — including Muhammad who, Devex has previously reported, is still separated from his wife and two infant children by a loophole in humanitarian regulations, two and a half years after his airlift out of Kabul.
Parliament was told applications for family reunions would finally begin “in the first half of 2024” — but the U.K. government is now refusing to stand by the commitment, saying only that “further information will be made available in due course.”