PESHAWAR, Jan 23: Islamabad is considering a request by Kabul to return Soviet-era aircraft and helicopters flown into Pakistan by defecting Afghan pilots, a senior foreign office official said.
"Yes, some requests have been made (by Afghanistan) and the matter is being looked into by the ministries concerned," Foreign Office spokesman Masood Ahmad Khan told Dawn by phone from Islamabad.
Mr Khan's comments were sought on a report that Afghanistan's defence ministry was seeking the return of 26 aircraft - nine helicopters, five bombers, eight fighters, two trainer jets and two transport planes.
The report by an international news agency quoting the officials of the Afghan defence ministry said that 19 of the aircraft were in Afghanistan while another seven were in Uzbekistan. It said that most of the aircraft were Soviet-era MiG-21 jet fighters and Mi-24 helicopter gunships.
Most of those defecting pilots had landed the aircraft either in Peshawar or the adjoining tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Mr Khan said he could not say how many Afghan aircraft and helicopters had been brought to Pakistan by pilots wanting to escape the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
He however, said that the matter could be resolved by the two countries through mutual consultations. "Both sides can sit and resolve the issue through mutual consultations," Mr Khan said.
Official sources familiar to the case said that the aircraft brought to Pakistan between 1983 and 1989 had lived its utility and were no longer flight-worthy. "It's been almost twenty years now and those aircraft if they are still here have turned into junk," the official said requesting anonymity.
The report published last week quoted the Afghan defence ministry spokesman acknowledging that the life of some of those aircraft might be over. The Afghan army presently has 28 helicopters and transport planes of the Soviet time that have been kept airworthy.
Russia on its part overhauled 11 of the aircraft last year but the nascent Afghan Air Force that founded its first corps last month after three decades of war was discussing which type of aircraft suited country's strategic plans, the report said quoting a US officer responsible for the new army.
