As expected, Pakistan’s national carrier first to resume flights to Kabul

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<strong>The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will start flights from Islamabad to Kabul on Monday, thus  becoming the first international airline to resume commercial operations from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country's capital on August 15.</strong></p>
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The stamp of approval given to PIA by the Taliban gives yet another proof of Pakistan's deep ties with the militant outfit even as several reports of Pak military planes flying back and forth between Islamabad and Kabul "with bags of documents" have gone viral on social media in the last 48 hours.</p>
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"We have got all technical clearances for flight operations. Our first commercial plane is scheduled to fly from Islamabad to Kabul on September 13," AFP quoted PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan as saying.</p>
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Khan also told the news agency that the service would depend on demand.</p>
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"We have received 73 requests which is very encouraging… from humanitarian relief agencies and journalists," he said.</p>
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The Hamid Karzai International Airport, which was taken over by the Taliban after the withdrawal of US forces, has majorly seen planes carrying humanitarian aid landing on its once-busy runway since the exit of US troops.</p>
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In the last two days, Qatar Airways has operated evacuation flights out of the Kabul airport.</p>
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"Today, the United States government facilitated the additional departures of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents both on a chartered Qatar Airways flight from Kabul and via overland passage to a neighbouring country. The Qatar Airways flight held 19 U.S. citizens and the party traveling overland included two U.S. citizens and 11 lawful permanent residents," US National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said last night.</p>
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