Afghan police return to work at Kabul airport

KABUL: Afghan police at Kabul airport have returned to work manning checkpoints for the first time since the Taliban seized power, officers said.

When the Taliban swept into Kabul last month ousting the government, police abandoned their posts, fearful of what the Islamists would do.

But two officers said they had returned to work Saturday after receiving calls from Taliban commanders.

On Sunday, an AFP correspondent at the airport saw border police members deployed at several checkpoints outside the main buildings of the airport, including the domestic terminal.

“I came back to work yesterday more than two weeks after being sent home,” one of the police force members told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“I received a call from a senior Taliban commander who asked me to come back,” another officer said.

“Yesterday was great, so happy to serve again.”

The Taliban say they have granted a general amnesty to everyone who worked for the former government — including the army, police and other security branches.

Kabul airport was severely damaged during the chaotic evacuation of over 120,000 people that ended with the withdrawal of US forces on August 30.