Afghan Rulers Utilized Left-Behind British Equipment to Track Down Afghans Who Worked Alongside Western Forces, Investigation Learns

A whistleblower has told a parliamentary probe that the UK abandoned sensitive equipment allowing Afghanistan's rulers to locate local individuals who worked with allied troops.

Data Breach Puts Thousands at Risk

The source, called Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the information breach were told to change residences and change their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.

MPs are investigating official management of a serious disclosure of private information involving nearly 19,000 individuals who had requested to relocate to the UK to escape militant rule.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A data file containing their personal data, such as names, contact details and sometimes relative details, was mistakenly released by a worker stationed at special operations center in last year.

The incident came to light in late 2023, when identities of several individuals who had requested to relocate to the UK were posted on social media.

Regime's Resources

Many believe there's a misunderstanding that the Taliban are without similar capabilities that we have,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they have it. Once they acquire your phone number, they can locate your precise location. That is what specialized teams did.”

During testimony about if militant forces had access to necessary encryption, the source confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Aftermath of the Security Lapse

Early investigations provided to the investigation estimated that at least 49 relatives and co-workers of people concerned by the leak had been killed.

A gag order about the breach was put in force in August 2023 and restricted relevant facts concerning it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the non-governmental organization associated with advised affected households they were working with that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“We advised that they relocate when possible and altered their phone numbers. Those were the crucial data that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would lead to their location being found,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

The source disputed that government assessment carried out by a retired civil servant had been wrong to determine that the obtaining of the dataset by militant forces was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are not standing up to the Taliban; they live secretly. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

She detailed terrible abuse endured by affected individuals, comprising electrocution, waterboarding, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to try to get relatives to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.