Pakistan opens air route to Afghanistan for commercial cargo

ANI
17 Oct 2021, 15:25 GMT+10

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 17 (ANI): Pakistan has opened its air trade route for the first time to commercial cargo destined to landlocked Afghanistan, reported Voice of America (VOA).

Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan, said in a tweet on Saturday, "Islamabad International Airport is now opened for high-value Afghan transit trade."Further, Sadiq said that a chartered aircraft brought "various industrial inputs" to Islamabad on Friday and the Afghan transit cargo was then loaded into containers before being transported by road to Kabul through the northwestern Torkham crossing on the Afghan border, according to VOA.

"I congratulate Pakistan Customs for arranging the first-ever plane-to-truck transfer of international cargo via Pakistan. It shows Pakistan's commitment to a geo-economics led foreign policy," Sadiq further said in the tweet.

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said that it had immediately suspended its operation in Kabul citing "security reasons".

Abdullah Khan, the national carrier's spokesperson, confirmed the development, saying that Kabul operations of PIA will remain suspended until further notice, Dawn reported.

The spokesperson emphasised the fact that the PIA had kept flying in and out of Kabul under "difficult circumstances" when others had ceased their operations. (ANI)

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