Head of the Afghan Aviation Authority to Al-Jazeera Net: The Americans destroyed 70% of the airport, and we only have 4 planes that expire after two years

Kabul

- The head of Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority, Mawlawi Rahmatullah Kalzar, said that US soldiers destroyed 70% of the equipment at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul before leaving at the end of last month.

Kalzar added in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net that the civil aviation situation in Afghanistan has declined during the past 20 years compared to what it was at the end of the first Taliban rule in 2001, noting that Afghanistan currently owns only 4 aircraft whose operational life expires after two years.

Next is the dialogue with Kalzar, who was born in 1970 in Arghandab District, Kandahar Province (southern Afghanistan), holds a Sharia certificate, and worked in the former Taliban government in the Aviation Authority.

- After the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, how do you evaluate the situation of the airport?

First of all, I congratulate the Afghan people on the victory of the Islamic Taliban movement and the withdrawal of American forces from the country, as you know that the Afghan people have suffered and are still suffering from wars and conflicts that lasted for more than 20 years, and tasted all kinds of injustice and aggression, and there are queues of widows, bereaved and orphans due to the actions of the forces With the blood of the dead and wounded, the American forces were forced to withdraw from Afghanistan and we got our independence and sovereignty again, and we will stand at the same distance from everyone.

Regarding your question, I can say: Wherever the American forces settled - whether at Kabul International Airport and the rest of the airports - these forces set up the infrastructure and then destroyed it completely, there was nothing left for the Afghans to benefit from, and so the Americans destroyed all the equipment that they were not able to transfer to the United States The remaining equipment has been destroyed by 70%, and most of it is unusable.

- We heard that the American forces destroyed the radar and the control tower.. Is this true?

The radar and control towers were completely destroyed. The Qatari technical team, which arrived at the airport yesterday, began the repair process. The waiting halls were relatively destroyed, and the aircraft belonging to the Aviation Authority and the offices of the national airline were severely damaged, and this loss is estimated at 4 million dollars, and throughout the airport and the rest of the property losses are estimated From 25 to 30 million dollars, there is an urgent need for restoration.

Is the plan to hand over Kabul Airport to Turkey still in place?

We are a national company and our work is to provide civil services, and our main work is to transport passengers inside and outside, this matter is related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the political leadership, and I cannot comment on the matter, and of course we will implement the leadership’s decision in this regard.

When do domestic and international flights start?

Domestic flights will resume today, God willing, today, Friday, and we have only one plane that can be used to transport passengers internally, while external flights will be delayed from 5 to 7 days until the airport is operated according to international standards, and there is ongoing maintenance work for this purpose, and this needs time, and our task is to resume Flights are as soon as possible because the world's eyes are on the airport.

Did the aviation authority’s employees and flight crew return to work?

The authority's employees have returned to their work, and we have sent a technical team to the airport to assess the damage it sustained a few days ago, and we will overcome this problem that led to the chaos in it.

Kalzar: The situation of civil aviation in Afghanistan has declined over the past 20 years compared to its situation during the first Taliban government (Al-Jazeera)

How many planes does the Afghan Aviation Authority have?

The Aviation Authority was established 67 years ago in Afghanistan, and unfortunately it has not made any progress in the past two decades until now, and we do not have the property and equipment that we had in the Taliban government in 2001.

At that time we had 1,800 employees and we paid them salaries in case we were prohibited from trips abroad except for the United Arab Emirates and India, and every 6 months we would take a trip to Germany to transport sick children, and compared to that period this company does not have the money and employees and originally did not earn anything, and currently The number of employees reaches 572, and salaries have declined a lot. Unfortunately, no progress has taken place as it should, and the authority obtained permission and permission to travel to any point in the world and everything was going normally.

We now have only 4 planes, and these also expire after two years, and it is worth noting that the State of Qatar has stood with the Taliban for 10 years, and allowed the opening of the office in addition to other aid, now we expect them to help in this sector, and we are discussing buying planes with debt or installments, and we We need 4 planes urgently, and we will ask friendly countries to help revive this sector in Afghanistan, and this will have positive effects on the future of this sector.

Can the Taliban provide aviation standards so that others can trust the use of these planes?

We will try very seriously to improve our performance and capabilities so that the world can trust in securing the airport, and we intend to pump new blood so that the authority succeeds in operating safe flights to all parts of the world, and currently we have 40 pilots, and we do not need to hire others, and there is an ongoing training process in European countries, and when we get On new planes we will need new calibers and new crew.

Do you have a reform plan in the aviation authority because our information confirms embezzlement and thefts?

Yes, I have a plan to reform this important institution in Afghanistan, and I welcome every honest person working for Afghanistan, there is no place for an employee involved in corruption and theft, and we will allow all female workers in the authority in accordance with Sharia and international controls that do not conflict with our values ​​and norms, and we will try to gain the trust of others regarding airport security Because now it has become the focus of the world's attention, and others are evaluating our performance in operating the airport, we must do our best in this regard.

Once again, I say and confirm that I allowed the female crew to resume their work because we need them and they are the ones who provide services to women during the trips, the bottom line: there is no problem with women.