KARACHI: Special flights will be commenced from Islamabad this week to relocate nearly 3,000 Afghan refugees to the United Kingdom.

These Afghan refugees had aided coalition forces in Kabul and fled to Pakistan after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

According to the British newspaper, The Independent, around 3,000 Afghans promised asylum in Britain after assisting coalition troops were left stranded in Islamabad hotels.

Over 59,000 ‘illegal refugees’ repatriated to Afghanistan

The UK had halted charter flights and required UK housing for them prior to travel, while hundreds more await relocation from Iran.

Meanwhile, sources said the policy reversal came after Pakistan’s November 1 deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave or face deportation. This prompted the UK to urgently commit to airlifting all eligible Afghan refugees from Pakistan before resolving their accommodation, they maintained.

Sources said that talks between a British High Commission delegation and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) officials were held to discuss arrangements for special flights to relocate Afghan refugees who supported coalition forces against the Taliban.

They said that these special flight operations would commence from Islamabad this week and continue until December 2023. When contacted, PCAA spokesman confirmed that the talks between a British High Commission delegation and the PCAA officials were held to transport these stranded Afghans to the UK.

He said that the PCAA team was led by Air Commodore Shahid Kadir (retd), while the UK delegation was headed by Political Consul Zoe Ware and added that both sides coordinated smooth flight operations to Britain. Furthermore, he said that the British High Commission thanked the PCAA’s support in this humanitarian effort.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023