US may let Tajikistan hold on to Afghan aircraft

The United States may let Tajikistan hold on to Afghan military aircraft donated by the US that sought shelter in the Central Asian country following the US withdrawal from Kabul in August last year, a US military commander said.

US-trained Afghan pilots flew dozens of military planes and helicopters to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as they fled the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) take over. 

The IEA has demanded that the two countries return the aircraft.

US Central Command commander Gen. Michael Kurilla visited Tajikistan over the weekend and said: “We are grateful to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan for continuing to secure the aircraft that the Afghan Air Force flew into the country last August.” 

“The United States is working with the Tajik government to determine the best way to effectively use and maintain the aircraft,” Kurilla said.

According to Reuters, Kurilla said the aircraft would definitely not be returned to Afghanistan “because they do not belong to the Taliban (IEA)”.

“Our hope is to be able to hand over some or all of the aircraft to the Tajik government. I do not have a timeline on when this will occur, but we are working hard to make this happen,” Reuters quoted him as saying.