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IEA demands return of dozens of aircraft parked in neighboring countries
Afghanistan’s ruling Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government has asked Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to return Afghan Air Force planes and helicopters that were flown to neighboring countries by fleeing pilots in August last year as the former government in Kabul collapsed.
Addressing a Ministry of Defense ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday, IEA Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob said his government would never agree to the aircraft being seized or used by the two countries.
“I respectfully call on [Uzbekistan and Tajikistan] not to test our patience and not to force us to take all possible retaliatory steps [to retake the aircraft],” Yaqoob said without elaborating further.
U.S.-trained Afghan air force pilots flew themselves and their families to Uzbekistan aboard more than 40 aircraft, including A-29 light attack planes and Black Hawk helicopters, just days before the IEA takeover of the country on August 15.
Uzbek authorities reported in early September they had deported hundreds of Afghan pilots and their families for illegally flying into the county aboard military aircraft.
The Afghan citizens were reportedly transferred to a U.S. military base in the United Arab Emirates under an arrangement Washington negotiated with Uzbekistan to move more than 450 Afghans.
But the fate of the aircraft remains unclear. Before the fall of the government in August, Afghanistan had more than 164 active aircraft, a large number of which were flown out of the country. Only 81 were left behind, according to Afghan media reports.
Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met in the Kazakh capital this week and discussed issues around promoting stabilization in Afghanistan, combating terrorism and drug threats.
According to Kazakh media reports, the participants also discussed preparations for the upcoming SCO Head of State Summit scheduled for July and the Middle East situation.
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, India and Pakistan are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The organization recognizes Afghanistan, Mongolia, Belarus, Iraq and Sri Lanka as observers, but the Islamic Emirate has not been invited to the meeting.
SCO members have repeatedly expressed concerns about a terrorism threat from Afghanistan.
But the Islamic Emirate has emphasized repeatedly that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any other country.
Turkish Airlines resumed its flights to Afghanistan with its first flight landing at Kabul International Airport on Tuesday, after almost three years.
Turkish charge d’affaires in Kabul, Cenk Unal, said at a ceremony to mark the occasion that the resumption of Turkish Airlines flights to Afghanistan is a clear example of the expansion of friendly and historical relations between the two countries.
He added that Turkish Airlines flies to numerous countries, and flights to Afghanistan will help expand cultural and commercial relations.
Officials of the Ministry of Transport stated that the resumption of Turkish Airlines flights shows that the people of Turkey stand with the people of Afghanistan in any circumstances.
They called on other international airlines to also resume flights saying that currently Kabul airport is safe and secure.
Turkish Airlines currently has 454 modern aircraft. It connects 348 destinations in six continents and in 130 countries.
The European Union announced Tuesday it has made available 400,000 euros (over 30 million afghani) in response to widespread flooding in the north of Afghanistan in the past few weeks.
This humanitarian aid will provide immediate emergency assistance to beneficiaries in the regions of Baghlan, Badakhshan, and Takhar, the EU said in a statement.
The assistance will be delivered by EU humanitarian partners ACTED and DACAAR. It will include an emergency multi-sectoral response through cash assistance as well as access to clean water, emergency sanitation and hygiene supplies, the statement read.
The EU mentioned that it has been funding humanitarian operations in Afghanistan since 1994, providing close to 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in funding.
Last year alone, the EU mobilised 159 million euros ($172 million) in humanitarian funding.
In addition, since 2021 the EU has organised a Humanitarian Air Bridge to Afghanistan, with 35 flights so far that have carried over 1,600 tonnes of aid.
SCO foreign ministers discuss promotion of stability in Afghanistan
Turkish Airlines resumes flights to Afghanistan after three year hiatus
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EU provides 400,000 euros to assist flood victims in Afghanistan
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