Key Points
- Safi Engineering Ltd was contracted by Australia to power it's now-closed embassy in Kabul.
- A company co-owner is calling for compensation for 15 generators believed still inside the former embassy.
- Safi co-owner Farid Shokori remains in Pakistan awaiting an outcome on his application for Australian asylum.
Australia's embassy in Kabul two months before the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital on 15 August, 2021.
Memories of that fateful day three years ago remain vivid for Samiullah Noori.
“I thought I was asleep and that it was just a nightmare that would be over soon, but unfortunately, it wasn't,” he said.
Noori was one of the “lucky ones” to be granted asylum by Australia, but despite taking possession of his humanitarian visa, he was unsure whether there would be flights out of Kabul.
“It was as if we had fallen into a well. With great effort, I was able to save myself and my children two months later in November 2021, [arriving in Sydney] through Pakistan.”
Samiullah Noori travelled to Pakistan after receiving an Australian visa and arrived in Sydney in November 2021. Credit: Supplied
In documents seen by the SBS Pashto, Safi entered into the generator leasing, installation, servicing and maintenance contract with DFAT on 1 March, 2020, at the cost of US$23,000 ($37,000) per month.
The contract was terminated by DFAT on 30 June, 2021, a month after the embassy closed its doors, and two months before the contract was set to expire on 31 August.
Acknowledging that DFAT had the right to terminate the contract, Noori said it came as a surprise as he was expecting that an extension clause would be exercised for a further 18 months.
When the Taliban swept back into power, it became clear that the company was set to lose the $US1.2 million ($1.8 million) it had invested into the venture.
“If we had this belief that they would terminate the contract before 18 months, we would not have invested so much,” Noori said.
He believes his company is owed compensation for 15 generators that were not removed before the complex closed.
Noori understands that the generators remain inside the complex, which is cordoned off and surrounded by Taliban police, though he cannot confirm.
A source close to the issue told SBS Pashto that embassy staff kept Safi Engineering informed about the responsibility to remove the generators before and after the embassy closed, and that arrangements were made to remove them.
Noori disputes this, claiming that gaining embassy access before the Taliban took power was “impossible”.
“First, no one even gave us access to check the generators. Second, [embassy staff] did not respond to calls and emails, and they did not respond to anything,” he said.
“As I cannot go to Afghanistan from here [Australia] to put my life at risk and sell the materials, we want to receive [compensation] instead.”
Samiullah Noori said that when the Taliban entered Kabul, they took documents from the Safi office and damaged the computers. Credit: Supplied
A source close to the issue told SBS Pashto that all outstanding invoices up to the contract termination date were paid.
Noori said it was impossible to refer back to receipts of rent payments, as Taliban militants took possession of all documents after storming the Safi office in Kabul.
“If they [DFAT] claim that they have paid the rent [for the remaining months], then they should provide the receipt documents," he said.
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told SBS Pashto: “On closing the embassy in Kabul on 28 May 2021, the Australian government acted in accordance with its contractual obligations towards Safi Engineering.”
Noori’s partner at Safi, Farid Shokori, fled to Pakistan following the Taliban takeover, where he awaits an outcome on his application for Australian asylum.
He initially applied for humanitarian settlement in Australia through the in August 2021, though received a rejection confirmation in April of the following year.
Farid Shokori is currently in Pakistan awaiting an outcome on his humanitarian visa application. Credit: Supplied
“I am currently in Pakistan, in a state of uncertainty and fear of being deported at any moment, imprisoned by the Pakistani government, or sent back to Afghanistan,” he said.
“I can't go to Kabul because I served the Australian government for seven years, and the list of me and my colleagues who worked at the Australian embassy is currently in the hands of the Taliban. They can easily identify us.”
Shokori said he “gambled” with his, and the lives of his children, by working at the Australian embassy.
“I am disappointed and heartbroken because I don’t know where I am headed or what the future holds for me.
“My request to the Australian government is to save me and my colleagues from this state of uncertainty as soon as possible. We have cooperated honestly and believe we deserve to receive visas and live a comfortable life.”
The Department of Home Affairs told SBS Pashto in July it was unable to provide processing updates on individual applications "due to the large number of on-hand applications".
The department is currently processing Special Humanitarian Program (SHP) priority applications received from Afghans in August 2021, the spokesperson confirmed.
"Given there are limited places available each year and the very large numbers of Afghans who have applied, we expect it may take several years to finalise all of those received in 2021.
"Applicants will be notified when their application reaches the next stage of processing or when it is finalised."
A DFAT spokesperson said the government “remains committed to assisting Afghans who supported Australia’s mission in Afghanistan and are extending all available effort to finalising certifications and visa applications for Afghan locally engaged employees”.
“The Australian government is committed to supporting the Afghan community with 16,500 places allocated for Afghan nationals under the Humanitarian Program delivered over four years from 2022-23 to 2025-26," the spokesperson added.
“This is in addition to the 10,000 places for Afghan nationals within the Offshore Humanitarian Program.”
