A senior Afghan army officer travelling as part of Afghanistan’s official delegation to the Nato summit in south Wales has claimed asylum upon arrival in Britain.
The move by Colonel Enayatullah Barack, who was supposed to be the Afghan flag-bearer at a ceremony due to take place at the summit at Celtic Manor today, will be highly embarrassing for David Cameron.
It also undermines claims that security in Afghanistan is improving as Nato combat troops prepare to withdraw by the end of the year.
The colonel, who claimed asylum on touchdown at Heathrow, follows in the footsteps of Afghan interpreters who worked for the British military in Afghanistan but decided to flee to Britain because of death threats from the Taliban, who regard as a traitor anyone who worked with Nato. The interpreters fear for their lives once the majority of foreign troops leave.
It is more unusual and potentially damaging for the morale of the Afghan military for an army officer to seek shelter in Britain. The colonel had been travelling with Bismullah Khan Muhamadi, the Afghan defence minister, who is head of Afghanistan’s delegation because of the country’s failure so far to name a new president to replace Hamid Karzai.
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The Nato-led mission in Afghanistan will be the first official topic of discussion at the two-day summit. The alliance’s 28 member states and more than 30 partner countries that have also contributed to the operation — the longest in Nato’s history — are expected to confirm pledges on the number of troops that they plan to keep in Afghanistan beyond this year.
Resolute Support is the name of the new Nato training and advisory mission of about 12,000 military personnel. Financial pledges are also expected to fund 350,000 Afghan security forces over the coming years, a critical measure to maintain loyalty in an army and a police force that has faced problems of defections to the Taliban, corruption and a lack of motivation.
A big question, however, is whether a new Afghan president will be confirmed in time to sign a bilateral security agreement with the United States that is required for any foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan.
Nato officials have warned that time is running out, though there is a possibility that the deadline can be extended if approval of the agreement is a mere formality that can be expected to happen early next year.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said he was aware of reports that a member of the Afghan delegation for the summit had “not reported for duty”.
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He added: “We are investigating the matter and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”