The Afghan Ministry of Defense has condemned the U.S. government's recent decision to transfer aircraft and helicopters, originally from Afghanistan and seized during the Taliban's 2021 offensive, to Uzbekistan. The Ministry declared the move "unacceptable," emphasizing that these aircraft rightfully belong to the Afghan people.
"Any deal regarding the fate of Afghan helicopters and aircraft in Uzbekistan is unacceptable," the Ministry stated in an official announcement shared on its Telegram channel. The statement further asserted that the U.S. "has no right to give away or confiscate the property of the Afghan people."
The Ministry also called on Uzbekistan to refrain from engaging in any agreements concerning these aircraft, urging the Uzbek government to make a "wise decision" by facilitating the transfer of the aircraft back to the Afghan Air Force, citing the importance of maintaining good-neighborly relations.
This reaction follows an announcement by U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Jonathan Henick, who revealed Washington's decision to leave the planes and helicopters in Uzbekistan.
Henick explained that the equipment, while used by the Afghan military, was always owned by the U.S., stating, "This equipment was never Afghan; it was American. They [the Afghan military] used it, but we were always the owners."
The controversy stems from the events of August 2021, when, amidst the Taliban's rapid advance, Afghan pilots evacuated fellow servicemen and their families to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan using aircraft provided by the U.S. The fleet included 46 aircraft that ended up in Uzbekistan and 18 in Tajikistan, including Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano, PC-12, C-208, AC-208, A-29 planes, and Mi-17 and UH-60 helicopters.
In April 2022, Ismatulla Irgashev, the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan, indicated that these aircraft would be returned to the U.S. authorities.
"The U.S. government paid for them. It financed the previous Afghan government. So, we believe that the decision on what to do with them is entirely up to Washington," Irgashev remarked at the time.
Despite this, the Taliban have consistently demanded that the aircraft be returned to Afghanistan, arguing that they are the rightful property of the Afghan people. In September 2022, reports surfaced that the U.S. was negotiating with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to transfer the aircraft in exchange for their assistance in counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
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