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A confidential source has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK left behind classified devices permitting the militant group to locate Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Data Breach Endangers Thousands at Risk

The whistleblower, known as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the data leak were advised to relocate and alter their contact details to protect themselves from militant forces.

MPs are investigating the UK government's response of a massive breach of confidential data affecting approximately 19k individuals who had requested to move to Britain to avoid militant rule.

Data Disclosure Occurred

A data file including private information, comprising identities, contact details and in some cases relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member employed at special operations center in last year.

The leak became known months later, when identities of nine people who had requested to move to the UK appeared on social media.

Militant Technology

“There seems to be a misunderstanding that militant forces are without comparable resources that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have a contact number, they are able to track you down to within metres. That's precisely what intelligence groups did.”

During testimony about if militant forces owned sophisticated technology, Person A declared: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Information Leak

Preliminary research submitted to the inquiry estimated that approximately fifty relatives and co-workers of individuals impacted by the breach had been murdered.

A gag order regarding the leak was implemented in August 2023 and prevented all details about it from being made public until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, the source and the aid group she was working with told affected households they were assisting that they had “concerns that somebody's phone had been intercepted”.

“We recommended that they relocate when possible and altered their phone numbers. That constituted the primary information that, if the Taliban obtained this information, would result in them being traced,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

Person A argued that internal investigation conducted by an ex-government employee had been wrong to determine that the acquisition of the information by the Taliban was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The important fact is that affected people are not standing up to militant forces; they live secretly. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

She detailed terrible treatment experienced by concerned people, involving electrocution, simulated drowning, and severe beatings.

“There are cases of toddlers who have had their arms broken to force relatives to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.