RAWALPINDI: In its first passenger flight to Kabul since the Taliban reclaimed power last month, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday took journalists to Afghanistan before bringing back those belonging to World Bank and international news agencies to Islamabad.

Air Commodore Jawad Zafar, who heads PIA operations, was present on board when the plane touched down in Kabul. PIA flight PK6249 departed from Islamabad International Airport and touched down at the Kabul airport at 9.45am local time, said PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan.

At Kabul airport, special arrangements had been made by the Afghan Civil Aviation and local PIA staff to restore the services. At Kabul airport, the PIA’s logo and flight number were posted after trained airport staff joined their duty and handled the flight.

The spokesman said Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan and other diplomatic staff had made efforts in this regard. This was the first international passenger flight to Kabul by PIA since the Taliban took control.

PIA Chief Executive Officer Arshad Malik said: “The aim of the flight to operate was to promote goodwill between Pakistan and Afghanistan and to strengthen the operation on the basis of humanitarian sympathy.”

He said this flight operation was very important for PIA and the whole world. “Everyone is looking at us, and contacts should be restored,” he said.

“Hopefully soon we will be able to fully restore the operation,” said CEO Malik.

The Boeing 777 flight later departed from Kabul at 11.12am local time and landed at Islamabad international airport at about 1.20pm.

The Kabul airport was left trashed after US-led forces finished a chaotic evacuation of over 120,000 people, and the Taliban have since scrambled to get it operational with technical assistance from Qatar and other nations, adds AFP.

Around 70 people were on the PIA flight to Islamabad, mostly Afghans who were relatives of staffers 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. “It’s like a vacation. I am sad and happy. Sad about the country, but happy to leave for some time,” he added.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2021