Thousands of Afghans, including hundreds of former military and intelligence operatives, have been secretly moved from Afghanistan to military bases in Britain in the past 10 months, The National can reveal.
It has been confirmed that more than 5,000 Afghans have entered the UK since October last year, many of them escaping Taliban intimidation and the threat of execution.
In Operation Lazurite, the Ministry of Defence's codename for the mission, former operatives who worked alongside British forces are now living in surplus military housing across the UK.
It was kept under the radar by the Conservative government, which was keen to appear tough on migration.
More than 1,000 people have been moved directly out of Afghanistan through Pakistan, sometimes on Taliban-issued passports.
Among those who have been evacuated are 156 Afghans, and their families, who worked for British intelligence services.
Many still remain and risk being tracked down and murdered by the Taliban.
“When they are confirmed as eligible we are bringing them in,” said a Whitehall source connected to the operation.
Numbers out
“We’re getting numbers of Afghans out,” the official added. “And some have more harrowing stories than others to tell."
The source said security checks on personnel and their families were being rapidly carried out by the UK Home Office before people were “confirmed as eligible”.
However, other sources said some of those now being let in had served just a few days with British forces during their operations in Afghanistan, mainly in Helmand province.
There have now been more than 27,000 Afghans resettled in Britain after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021.
It is also understood that other western governments are helping to allow more Afghans to escape Taliban arrest and torture.
Hidden figures
The previous Conservative government did not want to publicise the 5,000 figure due to worries over how it might influence voters concerned about high migration figures.
Britain had an excess net migration figure of 685,000 in 2023 and the issue was widely debated in the recent general election.
“The main problem was over the whole issue of migration, so it was difficult, particularly with the previous administration’s sensitivities on the issue,” said the Whitehall official.
“But what we have got to make clear is that these Afghans aren’t illegal immigrants or asylum seekers, they are what we call ‘eligible persons’ here with indefinite leave to remain.”
Afghan extraction
Operation Lazurite originally began in October after Pakistan began to deport hundreds of thousands of Afghans from refugee camps back to their homes. About 4,000 who fled to Pakistan, with some staying in hotels paid for by the UK, have been resettled in Britain under the scheme.
Some have been issued with Afghan passports by the Taliban, a source familiar with the programme has said.
The Afghan Resettlement and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme now allows applications to be made online but there are concerns that the system is being exploited in some instances, the source said.
“The Arap scheme is open to corruption. There is a lot of inconsistency with the programme. Assessments have been poorly done, but the system they are using is the only one to get people out.”
Military homes
It is understood that the UK is working with the Pakistan authorities, who have close connections to Afghanistan, to help with the escape of entire families.
There are more than 2,000 complex Arap cases still to be processed, with many related to “Triples”, those who served in special forces alongside British units such as Afghan Commando Force 333.
At least 700 military homes have been set aside for the Afghans around the UK, in England, Scotland and Wales.
Families, who are arriving either on special RAF flights or civilian aircraft from Afghanistan, are immediately taken to processing centres for medical checks before being housed.
With the British Army at its lowest numbers since the Napoleonic era, there is empty accommodation available and the Afghans will be allowed to stay in them for at least three years.
The bases where the Afghans are being housed are: Garats Hay, Leicestershire; Larkhill, Wiltshire; St Athan, South Wales; Cameron Barracks Inverness; Chickerell Camp in Dorset, Crowborough Camp in West Sussex; and Beachley Barracks near Chepstow, south Wales.
The Ministry of Defence was approached for comment but did not give a statement.
The National has withheld some information from this report in order not to jeopardise individuals’ personal security.
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The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
