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Afghanistan: first international commercial flight since takeover as UN slams Taliban’s broken promises
- A Pakistan International Airlines jet touched down in Kabul, before making a return flight to Islamabad
- Meanwhile, the UN’s human rights chief said Afghanistan was in a ‘new and perilous phase’ since the Taliban takeover
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Agence France-Pressein Kabul
An international commercial flight left Kabul on Monday, the first since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan last month, offering some hope to Afghans still desperate to leave the country.
The Afghan capital’s airport was left trashed after US-led forces’ chaotic evacuation of more than 120,000 people, and the Taliban has since scrambled to get it operational with technical help from Qatar and other nations.
On Monday morning, a Pakistan International Airlines jet touched down in Kabul, before making a return flight to Islamabad.
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Domestic flights resume at Kabul airport under Taliban control
Domestic flights resume at Kabul airport under Taliban control
Around 70 people were on the flight to Pakistan’s capital, mostly Afghans who were relatives of employees with international organisations such as the World Bank, according to airport ground staff.
“I am being evacuated. My final destination is Tajikistan,” said a 35-year-old World Bank evacuee, who did not want to give her name. “I will come back here only if the situation allows women to work and move freely.”
A 22-year-old university student said he was taking a one-month trip to Pakistan.
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