London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

Foreign Office blocks Afghan students from UK scholarships

Foreign Office blocks Afghan students from UK scholarships

Prestigious Chevening programme paused as British embassy unable to process applications
The Foreign Office has blocked 35 Afghan students from taking up prestigious scholarships sponsored by the UK government at British universities in September because the embassy can no longer administer their visas.

Despite fears among the students that their scholarships could make them targets of the Taliban, the Foreign Office said it was deferring their Chevening scholarships for a year.

The students were given the news this month in a letter from the British ambassador to Kabul, Sir Laurie Bristow.

“After careful deliberation, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has with deep regret decided to pause the Chevening programme in Afghanistan for the academic year 2021-2022,” the letter said.

“Current circumstances mean that the British embassy in Kabul is unable to administer the parts of the programme that must be done in Kabul in time for candidates to begin their courses this year. We are very sorry, as we know this will be a huge disappointment to you.”
The move has prompted outrage, with David

Lidington and Rory Stewart, two former Conservative cabinet ministers, calling on Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, to intervene.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “Current circumstances in Afghanistan mean the embassy cannot administer the parts of the programme which must be done in Kabul. We have therefore paused the Chevening programme there. All of this year’s scholars will be allowed to start the course next year instead.”

The Guardian understands that the Kabul elements of the programme that the embassy can no longer complete include travel administration and visa processing.

On Thursday the students held a virtual meeting with officials in the UK embassy in Kabul. The students put forward alternatives for the final administration of their scholarships, including having their visas processed in a third country. These options were rejected by the embassy.

The students are unwilling to speak publicly about their situation, anxious not to jeopardise their scholarships, but also out of fear of being identifiable to the Taliban.

Several of the students are members of vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities, some have previously been displaced by Taliban violence, and their association with British universities could make them particular targets.

Students are hopeful their scholarships will only be deferred but they are deeply concerned it could be impossible to leave Afghanistan in a year’s time.

“We are losing this opportunity for this year, we are not sure about next year, it might be so difficult our circumstances … we are trying to get out of this situation,” one said on condition of anonymity.

Dr Nishank Motwani, the director of research and policy at ATR Consulting in Kabul, said: “These are extraordinary times and this is when officials need to find creative solutions. The Chevening programme advertises itself as developing leaders for the future. They need to live up to their own mantra because in years to come, when the west wakes up about Afghanistan and sees what has happened, who are they going to turn to?

“It is these people, the top minds in the country [who] need to be saved. Afghanistan will need them. And these countries that have invested so much in Afghanistan over 20 years will need them.”

Motwani said the looming evacuation of the UK embassy was the “final opportunity” to bring the students out of Afghanistan. He said abandoning them would be a “disgraceful moral failure given how many Afghans have stood shoulder to shoulder with the UK’s civilian and military forces over the past two decades”.

He added: “The evacuation of the UK embassy staff will kill the chances of the successful applicants joining the programme another year. The danger is real because it assumes the students would survive one full year in what is increasingly looking like the return of Taliban rule. The risk that comes with safeguarding their personal documentary evidence for the Chevening scholarship is lethal if the Taliban find them because anyone with foreign ties to them is a collaborator.

“The conditions for a genocide are there, and people who have these connections, who have gone overseas and studied, they are the prime targets, because they are challenging the Taliban’s narrative.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×