The Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Sunday announced that five Afghan air force pilots who left Afghanistan after the republic government’s collapse, have returned to the country and resumed work.
Officials at the ministry further said that they will persistently strive to encourage all professional staff of the previous government to return to Afghanistan.
“Five Afghan pilots who left country, based on propaganda, answered our call and came back to Afghanistan,” said Enayatullah Khwarizmi, MoD’s spokesman.
With the fall of the republic government, many of the experienced military and air force staff of Afghanistan fled the country to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America, but no details are available about where these five pilots are returning from.
“The leadership of the Ministry of Defense has consistently called on everyone to come back and serve their country,” said Khwarizmi.
In the meantime, Anas Haqqani, a high member of the Islamic Emirate, welcomed the return of Afghan pilots on Twitter, saying Afghanistan currently needs professionals.
“Afghanistan needs everyone who is a specialist: doctors, engineers, pilots and teachers,” said Sarwar Neyazai, a military expert.
Reports have stated that around 140 Afghan air force pilots and personnel who were trapped in Tajikistan after leaving Afghanistan have since gone to the Unites States.
The return of the Afghan pilots comes days after the United Nations said in a report that over 100 Afghan military forces of the previous government were killed since the Islamic Emirate’s came to power. The report was denied by the Islamic Emirate.
