ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan Airways is set to launch direct flights between Tashkent and Islamabad starting May 24 in a “significant step toward enhancing bilateral connectivity,” state-run APP news agency reported on Tuesday.
The new route is expected to bolster people-to-people exchanges, trade and tourism between Uzbekistan and Pakistan, APP said, quoting the Uzbek Embassy in Islamabad. The airline already operates bi-weekly flights between Tashkent and Lahore on Wednesdays and Fridays.
“In the initial phase, the airline will operate weekly flights every Saturday,” the state news agency said.
“Discussions are currently ongoing with Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority to finalize the necessary logistical and regulatory arrangements. Subject to demand and operational considerations, the frequency of flights is expected to increase over time.”
In addition to the Tashkent-Islamabad route, Uzbekistan Airways is also exploring plans to introduce direct flights to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic hub, in the near future.
“The expansion of Uzbekistan Airways’ flight network is anticipated to offer greater convenience for travelers, while simultaneously contributing to increased tourism and stronger economic and cultural exchanges between Uzbekistan and Pakistan,” the APP report said.
Uzbekistan Airways to launch direct flights between Tashkent, Islamabad from May
https://arab.news/5b66b
Uzbekistan Airways to launch direct flights between Tashkent, Islamabad from May
- Airline already operates bi-weekly flights between Tashkent and Lahore on Wednesdays and Fridays
- Uzbekistan Airways also exploring plans to introduce direct flights to Karachi in the near future, APP reports
Pakistan says 641 Afghan Taliban members killed, over 855 injured in ongoing conflict
- Both neighbors have been engaged in fierce fighting since Feb. 26 after Afghan forces launched retaliatory attacks against Pakistan
- Pakistan information minister says 243 Afghanistan checkposts destroyed, 65 “terrorists and terror support locations” targeted by air
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has killed at least 641 Afghan Taliban operatives and injured more than 855 in the ongoing conflict between the two sides since last month, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.
Fresh clashes between the two neighbors began on Feb. 26 after Afghanistan’s border forces launched attacks against Pakistani military installations. Kabul said the attack was in retaliation for Islamabad’s airstrikes earlier in February. Both forces have since then engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades.
Islamabad has said its airstrikes, which have at times directly targeted the Afghan Taliban government, are aimed at ending Kabul’s support for militants carrying out attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban has denied aiding militant groups.
“Summary of Fitna Al Khawarij/Afghan Taliban losses: 641 killed, 855+ injured, 243 check posts destroyed,” Tarar wrote on social media platform X.
https://x.com/tararattaullah/status/2031687512868159638?s=46
The minister said Pakistani security forces have destroyed 219 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns in the operation so far, and also decimated 65 “terrorists and terror support locations” across Afghanistan by targeting them with airstrikes.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained since the Afghan Taliban seized power in August 2021. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks across the country in recent months that it blames on militants it alleges are based in Afghanistan.
Kabul denies the allegations and insists that its soil is not used by militant groups for attacks against other countries.
While Afghanistan has voiced the desire for dialogue, Pakistan has repeatedly ruled out talks, saying it will continue targeting militant hideouts in Afghanistan through “Operation Ghazab lil Haq” till Kabul desists from supporting militants.
The ongoing conflict between both sides has put the region on heightened alert, as it already suffers from the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran.
