KABUL (SW) – In response to continued flights of unmanned US aircraft over Afghanistan, Hamdullah Fetrat, the deputy spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, has said this is violation of Afghanistan’s territorial sovereignty.
He called on the US to respect Afghanistan’s airspace. Fetrat said: “We consider the flights of unmanned US aircraft over Afghanistan’s airspace as a violation and condemn it. We demand that the US respect Afghanistan’s airspace.”
Last year, unmanned US aircraft were also flying over various provinces, with Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, the Acting Minister of National Defense, stating that these aircraft were flying from Pakistani soil and entering Afghan airspace.
Subsequently, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Political Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, stated that Pakistan receives millions of dollars for allowing the passage of US unmanned aircraft through its airspace.
Hamdullah Fetrat, called on countries from which US unmanned aircraft fly over their soil and enter Afghan airspace to stop these flights. He added: “We demand that countries whose unmanned aircraft flights violate Afghanistan’s airspace do not allow Afghanistan’s airspace to be violated from their soil.”
Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, stated that US unmanned aircraft were mostly flying over Kandahar and Nangarhar.
However, some political and military experts say that the US wants to monitor Afghanistan through space to maintain its influence in the region. They add that the Islamic Emirate must address this issue through dialogue with the US.
Sadiq Shinwari, a political and military expert, says, “the US is sending a message to powerful countries that they have invested in Afghanistan, and others should not interfere in Afghan affairs. Another message is to the Islamic Emirate that Afghanistan’s airspace is under their control, and we do as we please.”
Aziz Stanekzai, another political and military expert, said the de-facto government of the Islamic Emirate should address this issue through diplomatic means. “They should activate radars to identify aircraft and engage in diplomatic dialogue.”
Earlier, the United States claimed that Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the Al-Qaeda network, was killed in August 2022 by a US unmanned aircraft at his home in Kabul, but the Islamic Emirate has not yet confirmed the killing of the Al-Qaeda leader in Kabul.
