Heavily pregnant Afghan women eligible to come to UK stuck in Pakistan

People who worked for or were affiliated with the British Council may lose babies as government delays relocation to UK
Pregnant Afghan women who are eligible for resettlement in the UK have been told their babies may not survive unless they are urgently evacuated.

The women, who worked for or are affiliated with the British Council, should be entitled to relocation through the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (ACRS). Despite Foreign Office and Home Office instructions to move to Pakistan and await relocation, they are stuck in hotels with limited access to medical care nearly two years after the scheme launched.

Meanwhile, on 1 November, Pakistan began deporting undocumented people back to Afghanistan, with 1.7 million thought to be at risk of removal. The former British Council teachers are among them, with many having spent up to £5,000 on passports and visas to reach Islamabad. While waiting for a response from the British government, their three-month visas have expired, meaning they could be arrested and deported back to Afghanistan.

Sadaf, a former teacher and trainer for the British Council who has a history of miscarriages, has recently been told that she has high blood sugar levels and high blood pressure, which could be harmful for her and her baby. Her doctor in Pakistan has advised that she follows a specific diet, which is unaffordable and unavailable to her. Like all other Afghans in hotels in Islamabad, she has been told not to leave the confines of the hotel to take the recommended daily exercise.

“I am so afraid of losing this baby, too, after two miscarriages already,” she told the Observer. “If I have no access to a doctor, my baby may not survive. We were hopeful when we came to Pakistan, but now there is no hope, no certainty.”

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Pakistan is responsible for managing the healthcare of those who are ACRS-eligible and awaiting relocation to the UK, but Afghans claim the communication has been poor, with urgent requests left unanswered for up to a month.

A British Council spokesperson said that the ACRS scheme is run by the UK government and it is not involved in decision-making. “We are incredibly concerned by the length of time it is taking for our former contractors’ applications to be progressed. They have told us that they are living in increasingly desperate circumstances. We are deeply concerned for them and for their families’ welfare and wellbeing. We are pushing for urgent progress with senior contacts within the UK government.”

A government spokesperson said: “All those ARAP [Afghan relocations and assistance policy] and ACRS-eligible individuals being supported by HMG in third countries have access to medical care, paid for by HMG.

“The measures taken by HMG in Pakistan to try to ensure that ARAP- and ACRS-eligible individuals are protected against arrest and deportation also cover access to that medical care.”