UAE SET TO RUN KABUL AIRPORT IN DEAL WITH TALIBAN

Fri 08 July 2022:

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the Taliban and the United Arab Emirates are close to agreeing on a plan that would see the Gulf state manage Kabul Airport as well as a number of other airports in Afghanistan.

In order to control Kabul Airport, landlocked Afghanistan’s primary air link with the rest of the world, the Taliban, whose government continues to be an international pariah without official recognition, have courted regional nations like Qatar and Turkey.

As part of the agreement with the UAE, Afghans will work at the airports, including in security positions. This is important for the Taliban because they want to demonstrate their ability to employ people and also because they strongly oppose the presence of foreign soldiers, according to sources.

While talks over airspace management are ongoing, they said a security firm connected with the Emirati government has been hired and should shortly be announced.

Shortly after Taliban officials visited Abu Dhabi in May, the militants gave the ground services contract to UAE state-linked GAAC, which was in charge of managing security and ground handling services at Afghan airports prior to the Taliban takeover.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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