Afghan interpreters who risked their lives by working for the British forces are to be offered the chance of settling in Britain after the foreign coalition forces leave the war-torn country by the end of 2014 as planned, media reports citing unnamed sources said on Tuesday.
According to the reports, the offer will be made to about half of the 1,200 interpreters who have worked for at least 12 months in the front-line with British forces fighting Taliban insurgency in the southern Helmand province.
Only those Afghan interpreters who have worked for the British troops between December 2012 and December 2014 would be considered as eligible candidates. They would be given visas for themselves and their 'immediate dependents' to come to Britain for a period of five years. They will also get free travel to the UK and accommodation paid for their first three months in the country.
Under a £40-million package being finalized by British lawmakers, those interpreters who do not qualify for emigration to the UK or wish to remain in Afghanistan will either be offered 18 months' pay or the money for training and education for up to five years.
The BBC quoted an unnamed Downing Street source as saying that the new plan gives the Afghan interpreters the option of choosing "the opportunity to go on working in Afghanistan, learning new skills and to go on rebuilding their country or to come and make a new start in Britain."
"The Prime Minister has been very clear that we should not turn our backs on those who have trod the same path as our soldiers in Helmand, consistently putting their lives at risk to help our troops achieve their mission. We should recognize the service given by those who have regularly put themselves in real danger while working for us" the source added.
Notably, Prime Minister David Cameron had initially objected to offering the Afghan interpreters a chance to settle down in Britain, and suggested that they should instead stay on in their home country to help rebuild it after years of conflict.
Besides, the British government had earlier decided not to give the Afghan interpreters the same UK resettlement rights provided earlier to their Iraqi counterparts. Apparently, the reversal of that decision was prompted by a massive domestic campaign demanding settlement rights for Afghan interpreters.
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