Pakistan eyes early reopening of Kabul airport: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday said that Pakistan is eyeing an early reopening of the Kabul airport for evacuations from Afghanistan in the aftermath of a Taliban takeover, ARY NEWS reported.

Reports have previously highlighted that Qatar has been facilitating a process with the support of the Taliban to make Kabul airport functional and resume flight operations to evacuate Afghan citizens.

Fawad Chaudhry in a statement said that Pakistan wants the situation to remain stable in the neighbouring country and so far they have not witnessed an influx of refugees at Pakistan borders with Afghanistan.

“No Afghan refugee has entered Pakistan so far,” he said.

The information minister further said that Pakistan has some influence over the Taliban, however, it does not mean that they control them.

Fawad Chaudhry once again lamented that Pakistan’s suggestions were not taken seriously by the Afghan authorities and led to a swift takeover of the country by Taliban.

“The prime minister had asked Ashraf Ghani against holding an election,” he said adding that Ghani refused to listen to the idea and it later led to divisions within the country that followed events ending in a Taliban takeover.

The US embassy in Pakistan had also appreciated Pakistan’s support and assistance in the evacuation operation from Afghanistan.

The embassy from its official Twitter handle said that the US military operation to evacuate personnel from Afghanistan has been completed and now Washington will remain focused on diplomatic engagement in the region.

“The United States appreciates Pakistan’s support and assistance with both of these efforts.”