Countdown for Qais: N.S. woman calls for action to help Afghan family flee to Canada

A woman from Windsor, N.S., says her Afghan friend is at imminent risk of death because of his work supporting Canada's mission to Afghanistan.

Nicole Wood says Mohammed Qasim Hassan Zada has been continually let down by Canadian immigration officials and by Canadian diplomats in Pakistan, where he and his family have fled.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has little more than a week to support Hassan Zada's refugee claim, Wood says, or his family's Pakistan visas stipulate they'll have to temporarily return to Afghanistan. That could mean he falls into the hands of the Taliban, which have been hunting him.

"Just nobody's answering to anything, and it's disgusting to me, it's deplorable," Wood said in a recent interview. "Shame on them."

The Canadian government has been criticized by former Canadian military commanders for being too slow to help Afghans flee their country. Last month, the federal government acknowledged it could take two years to resettle all 40,000 refugees it has promised to bring to the country.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told CBC News it is in the process of preparing a response to the issues raised by Hassan Zada's case. 

Wood met Hassan Zada in 2012 when she and her husband began working in Kabul for Innovative Allied Technical Services. The Afghan-owned company leased out armoured vehicles to countries like Canada that joined the UN-mandated mission to support a fledgling national government.

Wood says IATS held an important contract with Canada's diplomatic mission in Kabul. The company customized and repaired the leased armoured vehicles used to transport Canadian officials, including the ambassador.

Wood worked as an administrator handling clients with ongoing contracts. Her husband was the multinational company's lead in Afghanistan.

Hassan Zada, who goes by the nickname Qais, worked for IATS, translating for clients and helping source and deliver parts for the company's fleet.

"Qais was our fixer, he was our translator, he was our driver. He was our logistics guy," Wood said. "If you need it, he would make it happen."

Wood and her husband, Mark, liked Hassan Zada right away. And after years working side by side, Wood says, he became like "my brother" and a member of their family.

Since the Taliban takeover, Wood says she's been living in daily fear for his safety, and that of his wife, Shila, 34, and their children, Najla, 8, Ismail, 6, Wasim, 4, and Donya, 2.

CBC News reached Hassan Zada, 36, by phone in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, where he is living with his family.