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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Pakistan mulls return of Afghan planes |
| 2005-01-27 |
| Pakistan is considering a request by Afghanistan to return the aircraft used by Afghan pilots when they defected from their country's communist government in the 1980s, officials said. The Afghan aircraft include six helicopters and eight fighter jets — four MiG-21 and four SU-22, a senior government official said late on Tuesday. "The aircraft landed in Pakistan between 1983 and 1989 on account of defections of their pilots," he said on condition of anonymity. He said the aircraft are parked at various air force bases in Pakistan. He would not specify their locations. Afghanistan — which is struggling to rebuild after a US-led coalition ousted the Taliban militia from power in late 2001 — made a request to Pakistan to hand over the planes "sometime last year", Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said. "Pakistani authorities are looking into this question," he said. He would not elaborate. "This is a matter that can be sorted through consultations," Khan said. Last month, the Afghan Defence Ministry said it was seeking the return of 26 aircraft — nine helicopters, five bombers, eight fighters, two trainer jets and two transporters. Afghan officials have said 19 of the planes are in Pakistan and seven in Uzbekistan. It was not possible to reconcile the discrepancy in the number given by the Afghan and Pakistani officials for the sought-after planes in Pakistan. A senior Pakistan air force official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Monday that the Afghan planes in Pakistan were not airworthy. He said the aircraft had developed 'flaws' while parked for two decades. |
| Posted by:tipper |