With the rapid fall of the country to the Islamic Emirate, many Afghan Airforce pilots and maintenance workers, fearing for their lives, fled the country in military aircraft to neighboring countries.
The commander of the al-Fath Corps in the northern province of Balkh, Ataullah Omari, said that efforts were underway to transfer the aircraft back.
"Those aircraft transferred abroad have been returned to the country. As a result of continued efforts, some of the aircraft were brought back to Afghanistan," he said.
The Islamic Emirate once again called on Afghan pilots to return home, saying there is no threat to them.
Balkh Airforce Commander Zia ul Haq
...the creepy-looking former dictator of Pakistain. Zia was an Islamic nutball who imposed his nutballery on the rest of the country with the enthusiastic assistance of the nation's religious parties, which are populated by other nutballs. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whom he hanged when he seized power. His time in office was a period of repression, with hundreds of thousands of political rivals, minorities, and journalists executed or tortured, including senior general officers convicted in coup-d'état plots, who would normally be above the law. As part of his alliance with the religious parties, his government helped run the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, providing safe havens, American equipiment, Saudi money, and Pak handlers to selected mujaheddin. Zia died along with several of his top generals and admirals and the then United States Ambassador to Pakistain Arnold Lewis Raphel when he was assassinated in a suspicious air crash near Bahawalpur in 1988...Assim said that maintenance staff had recently repaired an aircraft that was broken.
"An aircraft was broken, and it should have been sent to Dubai for repairs... but our engineers and maintenance repaired the aircraft," said Ziaulhaq Assim, commander of Balkh Airforce.
This comes as the Afghan Air Force conducted a military drill about one week ago.
Acting Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqob said that the Islamic Emirate was committed to establishing a strong Air Force.