January 5, 2002	Saturday	Shawwal 20, 1422

NEW DELHI, Jan 4: India and Iran have reached an agreement under which New Delhi will resume a direct air link with Kabul after a break of more than four years, an Indian civil aviation ministry official said on Friday.

Confirming the understanding, an Iranian diplomat said the agreement would allow a private Iranian aviation company, Mahan, to operate three flights from Tehran to New Delhi via Kabul.

“The agreement was reached on Thursday,” the diplomat said. “The airlink will become operational only after the United Nations Security Council embargoes on operating flights to Afghanistan are lifted.”

International peacekeeping troops are currently carrying out repair work on the runway of Kabul’s civic airport to remove unexploded bombs sunk in craters.

India had been hoping to resume direct flight to Kabul on its own, but Iran’s participation became essential after India and Pakistan closed their air space to each others’ airlines last month amid escalating military tensions.

Flights from New Delhi to Kabul would normally fly over Pakistani air space.

“Indian Airlines (IA) was planning flights to Kabul,” an Indian civil aviation ministry official said.

“But after Pakistan refused to allow IA the use of its air space, the route became unviable as IA would have had to make a detour over the Arabian Sea.”

At present, plans by IA to operate flights to Kabul are “on hold” until the tensions between India and Pakistan cool down, the official said.

Under two UN resolutions, all commercial air travel to and from Afghanistan has been banned since December 2000.—AFP