Afghanistan has sought permission from Pakistani authorities to restart its airlines’ commercial flight operations to Pakistan.
Currently, the Afghan authorities seek to restart the operations of two of their country’s airlines —Ariana Afghan Airlines and Kam Air— to the South Asian country.
This was revealed in a letter sent from the Ministry of Aviation & Transport of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Monday.
The Afghan authorities seek to restart the flight operations based on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two Islamic countries.
Moreover, the Afghan ministry has also requested the CAA to facilitate the Afghan airlines’ flight operations’ restarting.
The letter also reassures concerned Pakistani authorities that the situation is currently in control at Kabul International Airport (KBL).
It is pertinent to note that Kabul International Airport was formerly known as Hamid Karzai International Airport, named after the former Afghan President, Hamid Karzai.
The Taliban has recently changed its name to Kabul International Airport.
The letter added that U.S. troops damaged the airport before their withdrawal.
However, due to the technical assistance provided by Afghanistan’s “brother” Qatar, the airport has been made functional since the 6th of September, 2021.
It is pertinent to note that teams from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are currently assisting the new Afghan authorities in the functioning of the airport until the airport gets self-reliant and fully functional for international flights.
According to Mawlavi Abdul Hadi Hamadan, the acting head of Kabul International Airport, the U.S. troops deliberately caused extensive damage to the airport before exiting the war-torn country.
The teams from the Arab Gulf countries are working on fixing the damage, but no timetable has been set yet to resume international flight operations.
What are your views on this? Share with us in the comments below.
