Afghanistan: 'Race against time' to rescue interpreter's family

Tim McCullough (centre) worked with Bilal (left) when he served in Helmand province in 2012

A Northern Ireland naval officer has said it is a "race against time" to save his Afghan interpreter's family.

Tim McCullough served in Helmand province in 2012, where he worked with 18-year-old Bilal.

Bilal now lives in Australia but has been told he has one month to return to his home country or the Taliban will kill his family.

His siblings are now in hiding.

Mr McCullough, from Bangor, County Down, told BBC News NI that the Taliban were knocking on his family's door every day.

Tim McCullough said Bilal (centre) is considering returning to Afghanistan after he was told he had one month to return or his family would be killed

"He knows if he doesn't go back then the remainder of his family are going to be executed. But he knows if he does back, he's going to be executed.

"He's got his wife and his two kids in Australia, but he's considering about his brothers and his sisters and his mother."

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Mr McCullough added: "It (going back) is something he is considering. He would go back to protect his own family, he's a genuinely great bloke and that he would rather have his own life taken then that of his family is testament to the man himself."

Mr McCullough said it was not just those who worked directly with Allied forces who were in danger.

"Family members are considered targets because they are aligned to what the Taliban has described as British spies.

"It has been a pretty shocking revelation that they are going to murder innocent civilians based upon the history of family members."

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He said it was "horrific" to see what was happening in Afghanistan.

"I just find that immensely tough to watch and that these people who have been shown what a great life they could have are now going to go back to the really dark days under extreme Sharia law."

North Down MP Stephen Farry has raised Bilal's family's case with the Home Office.

Government 'needs to step up massively'

He said he is also dealing with the case of a high-ranking Afghan police officer who is now hiding in Kabul.

While the government has been operating a relocation scheme for Afghan workers and interpreters since April, a resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees has not yet opened.

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Mr Farry said that scheme is the most likely route out for Bilal's family.

"We had a hotline that went live over the weekend that people are struggling to get through on.

"The government need to step up massively in light of what is the huge reality of the threat beyond those people who most directly worked for the UK."

Nearly 6,000 people have been evacuated on UK flights from Afghanistan since 13 August, the Minister of Defence (MoD) has said.

Of the 5,725 people evacuated so far, 3,100 of are Afghan nationals and their families.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.