Canada offers "path to protection" for Afghan interpreters, advisers amid "critical" situation |FULL

Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced Friday that the government was launching a program that would offer a path to protection for Afghan interpreters and advisers who helped the military during their mission in Afghanistan.

Mendicino made the announcement alongside Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau.

He also spoke about the logistics behind the new program which the government is launching to provide a path to protection for Afghan interpreters. He said they were working to determine how they would be transporting them to Canada, though did not specify the length of time those being helped had to have been working with Canada for.

As Afghanistan sees a resurgence of the Taliban as military troops, including from the U.S. and U.K., withdraw from the region, retired generals, veterans and Afghans themselves have called for action to help the Afghan interpreters and cultural advisers who helped make Canada's military mission there possible.

Retired Maj.-Gen. David Fraser, who was the former task force commander for the mission, said there are about 115 Afghan interpreters and advisers in danger.

The Taliban are Islamist extremists who enforce sharia law and held power in the country from roughly 1996 until 2001, when coalition forces overthrew them. But with troops withdrawing, the Taliban insurgency has been making rapid gains and now holds about half of the 421 districts.

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