Terror chief is kicked out of Scotland
A TERRORIST who started a new life in Scotland at taxpayers’ expense has lost his three-year battle against deportation.
Afghan asylum seeker Dawalat Khan Nasir fought against Nato-led forces as a leader of the banned Islamic group Herzb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (Hig).
The former military commander, linked to terror chief Osama Bin Laden, entered Britain illegally in 2006 and claimed asylum on the grounds he risked persecution in Afghanistan.
But the Home Office ruled that the 34-year-old should be deported, sparking a £50,000 legal wrangle as Nasir resisted all attempts to have him returned.
The embarrassing saga only came to an end yesterday when judges at the Court of Session said he could not be shielded by human rights laws.
But the case renewed the outcry about Labour’s soft-touch asylum controls when it was revealed taxpayers had not only picked up Nasir’s legal aid bill but also funded a home with benefits in Glasgow.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said: “Clearly this man had no right to try to claim asylum. Any reasonably organised country would not tolerate
“We must always bear in mind the danger he poses and the organisations he is associated with which pose a significant threat to this country, its way of life and of course our troops currently serving in Afghanistan.”
Earlier, the court heard that Nasir took part in attacks against the Nato-led mission in Afghanistan, where 169 British troops have been killed since hostilities began in 2001.
He took over his father’s role as commander in Hig when he was killed as the Americans moved in to overthrow the Taliban.
The mujahideen group has links to Al Qaeda and was founded by former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
Nasir used Hig money to fund his departure from Afghanistan before entering Britain illegally in July 2006.
He made an application for asylum claiming that since childhood he had been involved with Hig – a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.
In October last year, Nasir, who has been living at a high-rise flat in Glasgow under the Home Office’s asylum seeker dispersal scheme, was told that his application had been rejected.
He challenged the decision but his case was rejected by a senior immigration judge – a decision upheld by judges yesterday who ruled he could not be protected by the Geneva Convention.
Nasir had claimed there was insufficient evidence of his participation in Hig acts which were contrary to the purposes and principles of the UN and that he should be afforded protection under the Geneva Convention.
But Lord Hardie, who heard the case with Lord Reed and Lord Carloway, concluded that he was aware of Hig activities and aims and was excluded from the convention’s protection.
The Scottish Legal Aid Board yesterday confirmed Nasir had received taxpayers’ cash for his deportation fight but would not say how much.
However, sources suggested the final cost to the public purse could top £50,000 .
Nasirs’s £200-a-month rent as well as his council tax and utility bills are all paid for. He also qualified for “section four status” entitling him to food vouchers.
The UK Border Agency last night rejected claims it was a soft touch.
A spokesman said: “Public protection is our number one priority. Living in the UK is a privilege, we will not give refugee status to individuals linked to proscribed organisations.
"Our aim is to remove such people as quickly as possible. ”
