British businesses with ties to Afghan rug weavers have expressed fears that their suppliers could be targets of reprisals by Taliban militants.
Trade links between the countries have grown over the past two decades, with handwoven rugs and vivid handblown glass particularly popular among buyers.
But the collapse of Afghanistan to Taliban militants has put traders in the country at risk of execution over their association with the West.
British businessman James Wilthew has built up close ties with Afghan rug weavers and sellers. He buys the sought-after carpets directly from the northern provinces, the industry's traditional base.
The ex-serviceman sells them at his shop in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, and estimates his company, The Afghan Rug Shop, supports about 200 families.
A share of the proceeds goes to Afghanaid, a British charity supporting people in Afghanistan.
Now he is battling to fly out contacts he believes will be Taliban targets owing to their association with a former Nato base in the region.
“As a result of that, they are now in immediate danger,” as they do not fall under the British government criteria for evacuation, Mr Wilthew said.
He said he was frustrated by the British government's response, despite an emotive emergency debate on the crisis in Parliament and urgent calls for help.
“Nothing happens. There's been no action,” he said.
“Government bureaucracy will result in the deaths of thousands of people.”
The former RAF officer worked in Afghanistan in 2004, on the UK Provincial Reconstruction Team, set up to help development projects.
Asked if Islamist extremists could target those who worked with him because of his UK military background, he said: “Yes, of course.”
The Taliban could say: “You've been working for Mr James,” he said. “It's just the association.”
“I'm not necessarily how sure the Taliban will go with these things: we just don't know what the spectrum of danger is.”
Afghan rugs are a major commodity and the country's second-largest non-agricultural export, according to the World Trade Organisation.
Textiles are by far the most significant Afghan import to the UK, worth about £2.4 million ($3.3m) per year, government figures show.
The ancient carpet trade survived under the previous Taliban regime, which ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 until its removal in the US-led invasion in 2001.
But Mr Wilthew said the uncertainty and chaos since the extremists' return was “a temporary issue”.
“Under the Taliban regime, that trade [in textiles] will continue. They need the tax from that business, the employment,” he said.
“It's their export commodity. It's how they make an income.”
Most Afghan carpets are exported through neighbouring Pakistan. Mr Wilthew is unusual in dealing directly with Afghan artisans and traders.
That could force him to change his business model, possibly using a middleman in Pakistan and switching from US dollars to another currency if the greenback is banned in Afghanistan.
He is also unlikely to be able to continue using international shipping and delivery companies DHL and FedEx for delivery, he added.
“Acquiring rugs from Afghanistan is not a concern for me. It's not an issue; the issue is my friends,” he said.
Another company, Ishkar, in London, sells Afghan carpets with modern designs, as well handblown tumblers, jewellery and clothes.
The brand's creative director, Electra Simon, said she was in daily contact with people in Afghanistan, and “pretty much everybody is trying to leave”.
“They just basically want to get out. They can't leave their houses right now,” she said.
She said they felt “sheer desperation” at the situation.
“It's really hard: the relationships we've built up with people, seeing them in these massively tricky situations,” she said.
Ishkar's online shop is selling photographic prints of Afghanistan to raise funds for Emergency, which provides medical treatment to conflict victims.
The company works with about 30 people in the country. To protect its Afghan partners, it has removed references to them from its website.
“We want to do everything possible to continue working with people in Afghanistan, if it doesn't put them at risk,” she said
“Some of them will be [at risk], others probably not as much because they are just traditional artisans working, so hopefully we can continue working with them.”
Some artisans in areas captured by the Taliban have been able to keep working, she said, although the logistics of exporting to Britain were now impossible.
She and Mr Wilthew said the situation was still too fluid to predict, and that a clearer picture would appear in the coming weeks.
“It will definitely be different for us, that's 100 per cent,” she said.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: Najem Al Rwasi, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Fandim, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Harbh, Pat Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
4pm: Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
SHAITTAN
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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On racial profiling at airports
Honeymoonish
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
