Pakistan’s PIA to restart commercial flights to Kabul from Monday

Gulf Today Report

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume flights from Islamabad to Kabul next week as it got the Afghan authorities’ permission to resume flights to Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif and other cities,

According to the spokesman PIA is becoming the first foreign commercial service since the Taliban seized power last month.

Taliban, since the takeover of the Afghan capital, have put on hold its operations.

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Kabul airport was severely damaged during a chaotic evacuation of over 120,000 people that ended with the withdrawal of US forces on August 30. The Taliban have been scrambling to get it operating again with Qatari technical assistance.

"We have got all technical clearances for flight operations," PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan told the media.

"Our first commercial plane... is scheduled to fly from Islamabad to Kabul on September 13."

Khan said the service would depend on demand.

"We have received 73 requests which is very encouraging... from humanitarian relief agencies and journalists," he said.

In the last two days Qatar Airways has operated two charter flights out of Kabul, carrying mostly foreigners and Afghans who missed being taken out during the evacuation.

An Afghan airline resumed domestic flights last week.