KARACHI: A spokesperson for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Wednesday the national carrier’s operations to Kabul had been “temporarily” suspended as the new Afghan Taliban regime was restricting its nationals from leaving the country.
The United States and its allies have evacuated more than 70,000 people, including their citizens, NATO personnel and Afghans at risk, since August 14, the day before the Taliban swept into the capital, Kabul. Pakistan, which has refused to admit Afghan refugees, has so far helped evacuate almost 1,500 people, most of them diplomats and staff at international organizations and media outlets working in Afghanistan.
The Taliban have said all foreign evacuations must be completed by August 31 and asked the United States to stop urging talented Afghans to leave, while also trying to persuade people camped at Kabul airport to go home, assuring them they had nothing to fear.
“We have requests from international agencies to transport their support staff, mostly of Afghanistan nationality, however, the new Afghan [Taliban] regime is not allowing nationals to travel at this point,” PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan told Arab News, adding that the airline would resume operations once the restrictions were relaxed.
“Almost all aspiring Pakistani nationals have reached Pakistan either by air or through road,” Khan said. “The PIA has evacuated 1460 people, including Pakistanis and nationals of different countries.”
“We guarantee their [Afghans] security,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference here on Tuesday, saying it was “time for people to work for their country.”
He said Afghans crowding the airport in the hope of boarding flights had nothing to fear and should go home.
The BBC quoted Mujahid as saying Afghans would no longer be allowed to travel to the airport in Kabul.
The BBC and other media outlets also reported Afghans trying to get to Kabul airport on Tuesday and Wednesday were being stopped at checkpoints.
Despite the Taliban’s vows that they would not retaliate, they have been searching for people who worked with the US or NATO in “targeted door-to-door visits,” according to a UN document reviewed by multiple sources. Journalists have also been targeted, according to the UN and media reports.
But Mujahid said those who worked with the US or other countries would be safe in Afghanistan: “We have forgotten everything in the past.”
“There is no list,” he added, of Afghans who worked with Western troops. “We are not following anybody.”
PIA says Kabul operation on hold over Taliban restriction on Afghans leaving
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PIA says Kabul operation on hold over Taliban restriction on Afghans leaving
- It is “time for people to work for their country,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters on Tuesday
- Pakistan has refused to admit Afghan refugees, so far helped evacuate almost 1,500 people from Afghanistan
Islamabad steps up vehicle checks to boost security as 166,000 cars get electronic tags
- Authorities say over 3,000 vehicles registered in past 24 hours as enforcement intensifies
- Extended service hours introduced to push full compliance with digital monitoring system
ISLAMABAD: Authorities in the Pakistani capital have intensified enforcement against vehicles without mandatory electronic tags with more than 166,000 cars now registered, according to data released on Sunday evening, as Islamabad moves to strengthen security and digital monitoring at key entry and exit points.
The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration introduced the electronic tagging system late last year as part of a broader effort to regulate traffic, improve record-keeping and enhance surveillance in a city that hosts the country’s main government institutions, foreign missions and diplomatic enclaves.
Under the system, vehicles are fitted with electronic tags that can be read automatically by scanners installed at checkpoints across the capital, allowing authorities to identify unregistered vehicles without manual inspections. Vehicles already equipped with a motorway tag, or m-tag, are exempt from the requirement.
“A total of 166,888 vehicles have successfully been issued M-Tags so far, including 3,130 vehicles in the last 24 hours,” the ICT administration said, according to the Excise Department.
Officials said readers installed at checkpoints across Islamabad are fully operational and are being used to stop vehicles still without tags, as enforcement teams carry out checks across the city.
To facilitate compliance, authorities have expanded installation facilities and extended operating hours. The Excise Department said m-tag installation is currently available at 17 booth locations, while select centers have begun operating beyond normal working hours.
According to Director General Excise Irfan Memon, m-tag centers at 26 Number Chungi and 18 Meel are providing services round the clock, while counters at Kachnar Park and F-9 Park remain open until midnight to accommodate motorists unable to visit during daytime hours.
Officials said the combination of enforcement and facilitation was aimed at achieving full compliance with minimal disruption, adding that operations would continue until all vehicles operating in the capital are brought into the system.
The enforcement drive builds on a wider push by the federal government to integrate traffic management, emergency response and security monitoring through technology-driven “safe city” initiatives. Last month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reviewed Islamabad’s surveillance infrastructure and said reforms in monitoring systems and the effective use of technology were the “need of the hour.”
Authorities have urged motorists to obtain electronic tags promptly to avoid delays and penalties at checkpoints as enforcement continues across the capital.
