Afghan helicopters abroad won’t be given to IEA opponents: Mujahid

The Islamic Emirate says helicopters flown to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan after the collapse of the former government will never fall into the hands of the opponents of the ruling regime in Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said that discussions were held with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on how to return these helicopters to Afghanistan.

“The helicopters and some planes that are outside of Afghanistan are owned by the people of Afghanistan and this issue will be solved, Inshallah,” said Mujahid in a voice message.

“We told those countries our demands that they should be handed over to the Afghans again,” he added.

“Abusing these helicopters or falling into the hands of enemies is not possible, and after solving some legal issues in those countries, maybe the helicopters will be transferred to Afghanistan again.”

A number of experts meanwhile confirm the statements of the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, saying that these helicopters are the property of Afghans and should be returned to Afghanistan.

“These helicopters belong to the nation and this issue should be resolved soon and [helicopters] should be handed over to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Bashar, a political analyst.

According to statistics, Afghanistan had more than 164 military aircraft before the fall of the previous government, although it is still unclear how many helicopters remain in Afghanistan.

However, reports indicate that after the fall of the former regime, more than forty military planes were transferred to Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.

Last year, CENTCOM had said that it would not hand over the military planes transferred from Afghanistan to Tajikistan to the IEA, and that the US was working with the government of Tajikistan to find the best way to effectively use and maintain these helicopters.