A year after Taliban takeover, advisers still pleading for help to bring families to Canada from Afghanistan

While many people were able to flee Aghanistan after the fall of Kabul a year ago, the families of some Canadian citizens who assisted Canadian military forces are now being hunted by the Taliban government.

Some 45 language and cultural advisers — Canadian citizens who were recent Afghan immigrants — were directly recruited by Canada's Department of National Defence to carry out dangerous assignments during the war in Afghanistan. 

Their duties included gathering intelligence on the Taliban, warning of attacks and eavesdropping on insurgent communications.

Now, a year after some of these advisers asked Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to help their family members get out of Afghanistan, they say nothing has happened.

Four have filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission against IRCC.

"All the killers I helped to put behind the bars are now on the streets. They recognize me," said Ahmad Malgarai, who is among the four men who filed the complaint. He served with the Canadian military in Kandahar from 2007 to 2008 and with U.S. forces from 2011 to 2016.

"The Taliban has visited my in-laws' house three times. They want to know who are the people who assisted the Canadian Forces," he said. "They are after my family — like wild dogs chasing them."

Since mid-August, his family has been on the run, Malgarai said, "living in abandoned, humanely unlivable places with animals."

"My family is paying the price."

Malgarai says the Taliban forces want to detain his family and others to get information about the advisers. The Ottawa-resident has sought help from his local member of parliament, to no avail.

In addition to Malgarai, CBC spoke with the three other advisers who launched the human rights complaint. CBC is only using their military code names due to concerns for their family's safety.

Yousuf, an adviser who served with the Canadian forces from 2007 to 2009, was airlifted to safety, but his family could not accompany him. Two members of his family have been arrested, and others are also receiving threats, he said.

"My 85-year-old father was arrested by the Taliban and later died under their interrogation and custody," Yousuf said.

"My 16-year-old nephew was recently arrested by the Taliban and beaten for six hours continuously. One [interrogator] would get tired, another would continue the beating and keep questioning him, 'where is your uncle?'"