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

Information Leak Puts Thousands in Danger

The source, called Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the data leak were advised to change residences and change their phone numbers to protect themselves from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into official management of a catastrophic disclosure of confidential data affecting approximately 19k individuals who had asked to come to the United Kingdom to flee militant rule.

Data Disclosure Occurred

A data file containing private information, comprising names, addresses and in some cases family information, was accidentally leaked by a staff member stationed at British military command in early 2022.

The incident came to light months later, when identities of nine people who had sought to relocate to the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is this misconception that Afghan rulers lack the same sort of facilities that we have,” the whistleblower testified to MPs.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. Once they acquire mobile details, they can trace you down to within metres. That is what the unit achieved.”

When questioned about regarding if authorities owned advanced decryption, the whistleblower declared: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Preliminary research provided to the committee suggested that no fewer than forty-nine relatives and colleagues of people concerned by the breach had been murdered.

A gag order regarding the leak was put in force in last year and blocked relevant facts about it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the volunteer organization associated with advised individuals at risk they were working with that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“Our suggestion was that they relocate if they could and changed their contact details. Those were the two main details that, should militant forces acquired this information, would cause identification and capture,” the source testified.

Disputed Conclusions

The source disputed that government assessment conducted by a retired civil servant had been incorrect to conclude that the obtaining of the information by the Taliban was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are in hiding from militant forces; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to past work history.”

She detailed horrific abuse suffered by concerned people, involving electrocution, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“We have had toddlers who have had limbs fractured to try to get relatives to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.