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A confidential source has told an official investigation that the UK abandoned classified equipment enabling the militant group to locate Afghans that had served with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous in Danger

Person A, known as Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to move homes and change their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into official management of a catastrophic leak of personal details affecting almost nineteen thousand individuals who had requested to come to the UK to flee the regime.

The Information Breach Happened

A spreadsheet containing private information, comprising identities, contact details and occasionally relative details, was mistakenly released by a staff member stationed at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The breach came to light in late 2023, when identities of nine people who had sought to move to Britain surfaced on online platforms.

Regime's Resources

Many believe there's a misunderstanding that militant forces do not have similar capabilities that western nations possess,” she told the committee.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire mobile details, they can trace your exact position. That is what specialized teams did.”

Under inquiry about regarding if authorities possessed sophisticated technology, Person A confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Initial findings presented to the committee suggested that no fewer than forty-nine family members and co-workers of people concerned by the breach had been executed.

A gag order concerning the incident was enacted in last year and prevented relevant facts concerning it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, the source and the aid group she was working with informed individuals at risk they were working with that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they change residence where feasible and changed their mobile numbers. These represented the two main details that, if authorities had access to this information, would lead to identification and capture,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

The whistleblower disputed that an official review carried out by a former official had been incorrect to determine that the acquisition of the information by the regime was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that these individuals are not standing up to militant forces; they are in hiding. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

The source explained horrific abuse endured by at-risk Afghans, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to try to get households to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.