If, for example, some Afghan, having managed to get around all the obstacles of the immigration services, enters Britain and, admiring the wealth and abundance of this island, decides to settle here permanently, the simplest and most reliable way to do this is to apply for refugee status. He is placed in a special temporary holding camp for immigrants, fed, clothed, even given some money, while the bureaucratic machine begins to process his application. And since the country's authorities fear that the new immigrant will only be an additional burden on the honest taxpayer, most likely after some time the Afghan will be sent home. There is, however, one paradoxical way to avoid deportation: one must declare that the applicant was... an ordinary member of the Taliban movement.
A former Taliban member need not fear that he will be immediately thrown in prison. Of course, the English Themis would gladly put Mullah Omar or some of his closest associates behind bars, but the authorities pay no attention to small fry. Otherwise, they would have to lock up half of Afghanistan's population. But deporting a Taliban from Britain to his homeland is also not possible: the 1951 UN Refugee Convention prohibits sending a person to a country where he may be subjected to persecution. And any sensible person understands that the new masters of Afghanistan would most likely not pat a former Taliban on the head. So the British authorities have to give permanent residence to a man who, perhaps, only a few months ago fought against Her Majesty's army.
Interestingly, such favors are shown only to former enemies of Britain. If a refugee is a friend and during the last Afghan campaign fought not on the side of the religious students but supported the Northern Alliance allied with London, then he has no hope of settling in Albion. A British immigration official will say that after the overthrow of the Taliban, such a positive hero is no longer threatened in Kabul, and will gladly sign an order for his deportation to his homeland.
Afghan refugees quickly adapted to this situation and began to take full advantage of it. According to The Times, three Afghans who declared their affiliation with the Taliban have already been granted refugee status in Britain. Another 11 people are awaiting their fate, and most likely the immigration authorities will be forced to grant their requests. Of course, these "Taliban" try to explain that they were not volunteers, that they were dragged under Mullah Omar's banners by force, and that they fled at the first opportunity. On the other hand, some of them are not at all shy about denigrating the country that now gives them a roof over their heads. Thus, one Wali Khan Ahmadzai, who fought in the Taliban forces, proudly declares that "America and Britain are enemies of the Afghan people and Muslims." Nevertheless, he is "tired" of fighting, and he is ready to live in peace. Naturally, he prefers to do this not in poor and troubled Afghanistan, but in well-fed and quiet Britain. Moreover, London respects human rights so much that it not only allows Ahmadzai to revile it at will, but also does not deprive him of his "social ration" for it.
Patching the "loophole" that has formed in the immigration barrier with the help of the Geneva Convention is not so easy. As The Times notes, Afghan illegal immigrants are confident that it is much easier to obtain refugee status by declaring their affiliation with the Taliban. According to the newspaper, criminal organizations, which for a substantial sum are ready to secretly transport any refugee across the English Channel, specifically explain this to their clients. So if the authorities do not close this "loophole" in the law, there will be more Taliban in London than in Kabul itself.