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An informant has told a parliamentary probe that British authorities left behind classified equipment permitting the militant group to track down Afghans who worked with western forces.

Information Leak Puts Numerous in Danger

The whistleblower, called Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the information breach were advised to move homes and alter their phone numbers to ensure their safety from militant forces.

Members of Parliament are looking into the UK government's handling of a serious leak of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 individuals who had requested to move to Britain to flee militant rule.

How the Leak Happened

A data file including confidential details, including identities, phone numbers and sometimes household data, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member employed at special operations center in February 2022.

The breach became known only in August 2023, when the names of several individuals who had requested to settle in the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be this misconception that Afghan rulers are without similar capabilities that allied forces use,” Person A informed MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain your phone number, they are able to track your exact position. That is what specialized teams accomplished.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban possessed sophisticated technology, the whistleblower declared: “They possess all resources.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Initial findings provided to the investigation indicated that at least 49 family members and associates of Afghans affected by the incident had been killed.

A legal restriction regarding the incident was enacted in August 2023 and blocked relevant facts regarding the matter from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Because she was restricted, the source and the aid group she collaborated with advised Afghan families they were working with that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they moved if they could and altered their contact details. These represented the crucial data that, should militant forces had access to these details, would result in their location being found,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

The source contested that government assessment performed by a former official had been mistaken to determine that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “minimally impact an individual's existing exposure”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are in hiding from the authorities; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

She detailed horrific abuse suffered by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“We have had young kids who have had their arms broken to pressure households to reveal locations,” she testified.