Pakistan NA speaker Afghanistan visit postponed due to security reasons

Pakistan NA speaker Afghanistan visit postponed due to security reasons.

Due to the closure of the Kabul airport at the last moment, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser postponed visit to Afghanistan.

According to the media wing of the Parliament House, Kabul airport closes, while citing security reasons.

Pakistan NA speaker Afghanistan visit postponed due to security reasons

The Speaker was heading a nine-member parliamentary delegation to Kabul.

But his aircraft had to return to Islamabad, after the authorities denied permission to land at the Hamid Karzai international.

The Parliamentary delegation was going to Afghanistan on the special invitation of his counterpart Chairman Wolsi Jirga Mir Rehman Rahmani.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan posted a tweet on the matter.

He said that Speaker’s visit to Kabul postponed due to airport closure because of security threat.

Furthermore, he said that the plane was about to descent at that time.

However, the control tower informed of the closure of the airport.

Now both sides would announce new dates for the visit after mutual consultations.

According to the data available from the flight tracker Flightradar 24 which a PIA enthusiast shared that the aircraft circled for some time near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai airport, before heading back home.

The information available from the Kabul Airport’s online arrivals and departures showed regular flight movement and little disruptions.

Riaz Arian statement

According to the Afghan Tolo News, Riaz Arian, the commander of Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIR) said that the PIA flight was diverted because of the relocation of an unexploded ordinance from under a building near the airport.

It quoted an official from NATO’s Resolute Support Mission and said that a digging crew uncovered an unexploded ordinance that appears to have been buried “for quite some time” in the area.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan quoted a Resolute Support Official who said: “During construction at HKIA international airport, a digging crew uncovered unexploded ordinance that appears to have been buried for some time.

Moreover, the explosives uncovered in an unoccupied area far from any active runway.

Explosives

Meanwhile, Turkish military explosives experts conducted a controlled detonation to render the device safe.

Flight operations resumed shortly thereafter.

The Parliamentary delegation comprised Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Sadiq Khan, MNAs Shandan Gulzaar, Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, Sajid Khan, Maulana Salauddin Ayubi, Gul Dad Khan, Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Secretary National Assembly.

The delegation was going on a four-day visit to Kabul.

Prior to his visit, the Speaker issued a brief message. He said he looked forward to closer ties with the people of Afghanistan.

Furthermore, he said the delegation planned to hold wide-ranging discussions, including deliberations on the Afghan peace and cross-border trade.

GTV