Pakistan halts evacuation from Afghanistan, temporarily suspends flights: Report
PremiumThe Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on last Sunday, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a two-decade war
Pakistan has temporarily suspended flight operations to Afghanistan's Kabul, halting the evacuation operations, reported news agency PTI, quoting local media reports.
As per Geo News, state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which was the sole commercial airline that had been operating flights to and from Kabul, suspended operation due to a lack of facilities and heaps of garbage at Hamid Karzai International Airport tarmac.
PIA was helping the evacuation of diplomats and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the war-torn country last week.
Media reports state that there are no immigration officials, security checks and sanitation workers present at the Kabul airport currently.
The garbage at the airport’s tarmac could cause a tragic accident, feared the sources.
The security of Kabul airport is with the US. “They were interested in military aircraft only," the reports quoted sources as saying.
Radio Pakistan also reported that PIA has "temporarily" suspended its flight operation to Afghanistan due to the unavailability of necessary facilities at Kabul airport.
Quoting PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez, the report said the flight operation will remain closed for a couple of days.
"We have talked to Afghan Civil Aviation Authority for restoration of all required facilities at Kabul airport as soon as possible so that PIA could resume its flight operation," Hafeez said, adding that PIA has so far evacuated 1,500 people, including journalists, UN officials and Pakistani national, in five flights.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on last Sunday, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a two-decade war.
The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.
With inputs from agencies.
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