Amid the crisis in Afghanistan that pushed thousands of citizens to flee the country on an emergency basis, 46 Afghan planes filled with 585 troops crossed the border illegally and were forcibly landed allegedly in Uzbekistan.
The Uzbekistan government’s state prosecutor released the statement detailing the number of military choppers that arrived in their country “forcibly”. Within 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, 22 military planes and 24 helicopters landed at the Termez airport located in southern Uzbekistan.
One of the Afghan planes that crossed the border crashed in the southern province of Surkhondaryo following a collision with another aircraft, the prosecutor said. The clash took place between the Afghani military plane and an Uzbek government plane that was assisting in the former’s landing.
The pilots of the plane landed on the airport by parachutes, he added in the statement. The debris and wounded pilots’ photographs were quickly circulated over Telegram as the media hurried to cover the news on late Sunday night.
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On the same day, 158 civilians and military troops crossed the border and entered Uzbekistan by passing over the Amu Darya river. All of them are facing criminal charges, the statement read.
The developments in Afghanistan remained on a tight watch by the Central Asian countries that share borders with the country- Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. These former Soviet nations remained the top places where fleeing Afghans could take shelter in.
A doctor practising in Surkhondaryo’s regional capital city, Termez, said that his hospital admitted 2 patients who were clad in Afghan military uniforms. Dr Bekpulat Okboyev said these patients are believed to be the pilots of the crashed plane. One of them had a parachute with him and was diagnosed with several fractures in his body, he said.
On Saturday, 3 Afghan soldiers were taken in by the hospital when 84 troops had crossed the border illegally to escape the Taliban rule. However, the foreign ministry said the border staff had detained the Afghan soldiers the previous night, though they gave them humanitarian assistance due to their situation.
As per the statement, preparations were being made to return the soldiers to the “Afghan side” with negotiations active between the two nations on this front.
Another neighbour of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, said that it permitted more than 100 Afghan military staff to enter the country and land their aircraft in the southern region of the country.
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Speaking about the arrival of Afghanis at the Bokhtar airport, Tajikistan’s information department of the foreign ministry said, “Tajikistan received SOS signals, after which, in accordance with the country’s international obligations, it was decided to allow Afghan servicemen to land at the airport.” According to a report by RIA Novosti, soldiers landed in 3 planes at night in Bokhtar.
The sudden turn of events in Afghanistan has left its neighbouring countries puzzled and worried. Yet, only one of the 3 bordering nations- Tajikistan- initiated talks with the Taliban after it gained power in the region. As per its government, the Taliban has assured the Tajik of maintaining peace with due attention to regional infrastructure projects after the Ghani-led government collapsed.
