Afghanistan commercial flights resume following Taliban takeover

The first international flight from Kabul has taken off for the first time since the recent rule of the Taliban

Kabul on Thursday saw the departure of its first international commercial flight since last month’s chaotic Western airlift, but hopes for a return to order were offset by U.N. reports of rising restrictions on women and a looming humanitarian disaster.

The flight marked an important step in the Taliban’s efforts to bring a degree of normality back to the country after they seized power last month. But U.N. Special Envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons told the Security Council the country was in danger of “a total breakdown of the economy and social order” without an infusion of money.

She also said there were rising reports of the Taliban imposing curbs on women similar to those when they ruled from 1996 to 2001, despite a promise by leaders to respect women’s rights in accordance with sharia, or Islamic law.

Visiting Islamabad, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani thanked Taliban leaders for helping reopen the airport.

About 113 people were aboard the flight to Doha operated by state-owned Qatar Airways, officials said. The passengers included U.S., Canadian, Ukrainian, German and British citizens, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Declining to give a number for the American contingent aboard, the United States said 30 U.S. citizens and permanent residents were invited to join the flight but not all had accepted.

A source said the passengers were taken to Kabul airport in a Qatari convoy after safe passage was agreed. In Doha, they will initially stay in a compound hosting Afghan and other evacuees.

Although international flights have flown in and out with officials, technicians and aid in recent days, this was the first such civilian flight since the hectic evacuation of 124,000 foreigners and at-risk Afghans that followed the Taliban’s capture of the capital on Aug. 15.

Qatari special envoy Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani described Thursday’s flight as a regular one and not an evacuation. There would also be a flight on Friday, he said.

“Hopefully, life is becoming normal in Afghanistan,” al-Qahtani said from the tarmac, quoted by Al Jazeera.