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A whistleblower has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK abandoned confidential equipment allowing the Taliban to track down Afghans that had served with international military.

Information Leak Endangers Thousands at Risk

The whistleblower, identified as Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the data leak were instructed to relocate and change their contact details to avoid detection from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are currently examining the UK government's response of a catastrophic leak of personal details involving almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had applied to relocate to Britain to avoid the Taliban.

Data Disclosure Was Discovered

A spreadsheet containing confidential details, such as identities, contact details and in some cases household data, was accidentally leaked by an official working at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The leak became known months later, when identities of multiple applicants who had applied to move to Britain were posted on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

Many believe there's a false assumption that Afghan rulers lack similar capabilities that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire your phone number, they can locate you down to within metres. That's precisely what the unit did.”

During testimony about if militant forces possessed sophisticated technology, Person A confirmed: “They've got everything.”

Impact of the Data Breach

Preliminary research provided to the inquiry suggested that approximately fifty kin and co-workers of Afghans affected by the incident had been murdered.

A gag order regarding the leak was implemented in August 2023 and blocked all details concerning it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, Person A and the volunteer organization she collaborated with informed Afghan families they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been breached”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved where feasible and changed their mobile numbers. These represented the crucial data that, if authorities acquired these details, would cause them being traced,” Person A explained.

Disputed Conclusions

Person A argued that internal investigation performed by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to conclude that the possession of the dataset by the regime was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that these individuals are not standing up to militant forces; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

She detailed horrific violence experienced by concerned people, including electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to pressure the family to reveal locations,” Person A stated.