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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind classified equipment allowing Afghanistan's rulers to locate local individuals that had served with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk

The whistleblower, known as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the information breach were instructed to move homes and change their phone numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.

Lawmakers are looking into official management of a massive leak of personal details affecting approximately 19k individuals who had asked to relocate to Britain to escape the regime.

How the Leak Happened

A data file with confidential details, including identities, addresses and in some cases household data, was accidentally leaked by an official working at British military command in early 2022.

The breach became known in late 2023, when the names of nine people who had sought to move to the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Regime's Resources

It appears there is a false assumption that Afghan rulers are without the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain mobile details, they can locate your precise location. This is exactly how intelligence groups did.”

Under inquiry about regarding if authorities had access to sophisticated technology, the source declared: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Data Breach

Preliminary research provided to the inquiry estimated that approximately fifty kin and co-workers of Afghans affected by the leak had been executed.

A legal restriction regarding the incident was enacted in August 2023 and blocked relevant facts about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with advised individuals at risk they were working with that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they relocate if they could and switched their contact details. That constituted the primary information that, should militant forces acquired this information, would result in their location being found,” she said.

Contested Findings

The whistleblower disputed that government assessment conducted by a former official had been mistaken to determine that the acquisition of the records by militant forces was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The thing to remember is that these individuals are not standing up to the authorities; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves their previous employment.”

She detailed terrible treatment experienced by affected individuals, comprising electric shock torture, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to pressure relatives to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.