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A confidential source has revealed a parliamentary probe that the UK abandoned confidential devices permitting the militant group to locate Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Thousands at Risk

Person A, called Person A, stated that people concerned by the data leak were instructed to move homes and change their phone numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are looking into the UK government's management of a catastrophic disclosure of personal details affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had asked to relocate to the United Kingdom to avoid the Taliban.

Data Disclosure Occurred

A spreadsheet containing their personal data, comprising names, contact details and sometimes household data, was mistakenly released by an official stationed at special operations center in last year.

The incident came to light months later, when the names of nine people who had requested to relocate to Britain surfaced on Facebook.

Militant Technology

Many believe there's this misconception that the Taliban lack the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” Person A informed MPs.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire your phone number, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what specialized teams accomplished.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban had access to advanced decryption, the source stated: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Early investigations provided to the investigation indicated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and co-workers of Afghans affected by the leak had been murdered.

A legal restriction about the leak was put in force in August 2023 and blocked any information about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the aid group she collaborated with told individuals at risk they were supporting that they had “concerns that certain devices had been breached”.

“We advised that they moved when possible and altered their mobile numbers. That constituted the two main details that, if authorities obtained this information, would cause them being traced,” Person A explained.

Disputed Conclusions

The whistleblower disputed that internal investigation performed by a former official had been mistaken to determine that the obtaining of the dataset by the Taliban was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The thing to remember is that these individuals are not confronting the Taliban; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

The source explained terrible abuse suffered by affected individuals, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had limbs fractured to try to get relatives to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.