Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

‘They’d come to kill me’: The Afghan tax reformer hunted by the Taliban and abandoned by the Britain he served

‘They’d come to kill me’: The Afghan tax reformer hunted by the Taliban and abandoned by the Britain he served

A year after the fall of Kabul, Abdullah Sayyid is in hiding, his wife has been murdered and the Home Office appears to have lost his case file

Abdullah Sayyid often thinks about the moment the Taliban broke down his door, burst inside and shot his wife. The gunmen left, but would soon redouble their efforts to kill him because of his work for the British government.

Sayyid’s wife was murdered during the chaotic aftermath of Operation Pitting, the UK’s emergency mass airlift from Kabul that began on 13 August last year.

This Wednesday marks a lesser-known anniversary – that of Sayyid’s application to a Home Office resettlement scheme that should have given him a fresh start in the UK. He is currently hiding in the eastern desert of Iran, and his most recent contact with the UK authorities he served for years was in mid-May. Sayyid (not his real name) suspects they have lost his case file – again.

Like many, the 45-year-old was pleased that Afghanistan appeared to be on the right path. He was at the forefront of a programme funded by the Department for International Development to reform Afghanistan’s tax system, which was lauded in evidence given to the British parliament.

“I was quite high-profile, with appearances in the media. Everybody knew what I did,” Sayyid said. That high profile – the widespread knowledge of his association with the British – placed his life in peril when the Taliban seized power, and RAF transport planes began evacuating Afghan nationals – the first landing at Brize Norton soon after midnight on 14 August last year.

Eligible for the UK’s Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap), Sayyid submitted his application on 17 August and waited, nervously monitoring the daily scrums outside Kabul airport as 100 RAF flights took 15,000 people to safety.

By the time Pitting ended on 28 August, Sayyid accepted that he had to flee Kabul. He headed south to Kandahar and across to the town of Spin Boldak, from where, under cover of darkness, he walked across the border into Pakistan.

He made his way to Islamabad, checked in at a guesthouse and lay low. In mid September – with no sign of the UK government coming to his aid – his brother-in-law visited his wife at their Kabul home.

In the weeks that followed Pitting, the Taliban were assiduously compiling intelligence on those who had helped the British. Sayyid’s home was among those that were likely to be watched. “Perhaps someone reported that her brother was there and they thought it was me,” he said.

In the early hours of 17 September, his wife woke to pandemonium. A group of Taliban gunmen stormed inside. But their target was 500km away. “They wanted me: they were shouting, ‘You’re the son of British’. They had come to kill me.”

His wife was shot at close range, and taken to the nearby Ali Abad hospital, where surgeons operated to save the 29-year-old’s life. “But the internal bleeding was not stopping,” said Sayyid. Throughout the day, doctors battled to keep her alive.

“Then, during the evening, the Taliban forces came into the hospital and said: ‘She’s not allowed to be treated here – take her away.’ They just kicked her out of the hospital.”

She was taken to Sayyid’s sister, a doctor, with Sayyid kept informed of any developments, knowing that if he returned to Kabul he would be killed. Regular updates confirmed that his wife’s condition continued to deteriorate. “The bleeding was non-stop,” said Sayyid. On 20 September, she died.

Justice, even revenge, was impossible. Sayyid discovered that among those involved in his wife’s death was a senior figure in the Taliban’s intelligence services.

With still no word from the UK Home Office, he journeyed to the Pakistani city of Peshawar and found work with a medicine firm.

At the start of 2022 came more grim news. “On 1 January my caseworker told me they couldn’t find my application,” he said. Five days later, Sayyid applied to Arap again. “They told me everything’s received, everything is going well,” he said.

Several months passed, with Sayyid keeping his head down, waiting for fresh Home Office developments.

They never came. Instead he was recognised in Peshawar by a member of the Haqqani network, a pro-Taliban organisation blacklisted by the US as a terrorist group and supported by Pakistan’s feared ISI intelligence agency. “He said: ‘We know you, we know that you are a very high official in the last Afghan government and are in hiding’. The Haqqani network have very high influence in Pakistan, they are very dangerous.”

Fearing he would be assassinated in the border city, Sayyid hurriedly adopted a disguise, including a “very long beard”. He fled south to Quetta in the Pakistani province of Balochistan and on to the Iranian city of Zahedan, east of the Dasht-e Lut desert. “It’s Baloch people, there’s no Haqqani network, no Taliban influence.”

Yet Sayyid fears there is nowhere in the region that will stay safe indefinitely. His last contact with the Home Office was on 17 May. “I think they have lost the application again. I have no plan now, only that I want to leave Asia for ever, not just Afghanistan, and never come back.”

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
×