Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced suspension of flights from Kabul after its staff was intimidated by the Taliban authorities. The PIA said that the decision was made due to ‘heavy handed’ interference by the Taliban which included arbitrary changes in rules and intimidation of staff.
A CNN journalist quoted a source as saying that PIA’s country representative in Afghanistan was held at gunpoint for hours after the Taliban authorities accused him of helping people escape the country.
Pakistan International Airlines suspends operations to Kabul because of Taliban "heavy handedness”. Sources tell CNN that PIA’s country rep in Afghanistan was held on gun point for hours on accusations of abetting people from leaving the country #PIA
— Sophia Saifi (@SophiaSaifi) October 14, 2021
PIA was the only international company operating in Kabul. Earlier, the Taliban government ordered the airline to reduce prices to what they were before the fall of Kabul in August.
“We are suspending our flight operations to Kabul from today because of the heavy handedness of the authorities,” a PIA spokesman said in a statement.
