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Police Arrest Five Over Illegal Diversion Of Plane

A delegation from the ministry of interior on Wednesday arrested five senior security officials over the illegal diversion of a Kam Air flight in Bamiyan on Tuesday.

Bamiyan MP Abdul Rahman Shaheedani’s son was among those arrested.

According to a source, the head of Bamiyan Airport’s security and the border police commander were among those arrested and the five were immediately transferred to Kabul.

This comes after two Bamiyan MPs, including Shaheedani, reportedly missed their flight in Kabul on Tuesday. On approach at the Bamiyan airport, the Kam Air plane, the MPs were booked on, was prevented from landing and forced to return to Kabul.

According to reports, relatives of the MPs converged on the runway preventing the plane, which was carrying 30 passengers, from landing.

Kam Air officials have said the relatives of the MPs also threw stones on the runway when the plane tried to land.

Once back in the capital, the plane refueled and again took off for Bamiyan – this time with the two MPs on board.

Earlier Wednesday, MoI spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said: “Our team is investigating the issue in order to identify and arrest people who motivated the people to enter the runway and prevent the flight from landing.”

Footage obtained by TOLOnews of the return flight to Bamiyan shows that MP Abdul Rahman Shaheedani, who was on board with another MP Ghulam Husain Naseri, argued that he made the move to “break the taboo” and to make people realize his “position” and his “place”.
 
“It should not be like this anymore - that I am not known (by the people). Today I broke the taboo,” Shaheedani told passengers in the video.
 
Passengers on the flight said they were upset over what happened.
 
“Mr. MP (Abdul Rahman Shaheedani), you know that we have a 10-year plan for Bamiyan’s reconstruction and by this move, you delayed the plan,” said a passenger on board.
 
Meanwhile, a number of MPs in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) on Wednesday condemned the act and called for a full investigation and for the guilty parties to be prosecuted.
 
“We apologize to the people of Afghanistan,” said Sadiqi Nilizada, an MP from Bamiyan. “I want to say that we are not part of those lawmakers who succeed on the back of people’s votes and then stand against those people.”
 
“Those security officials who let the people on to the runway and prevented the plane from landing should be sacked as soon as possible,” said Nasima Niazi, an MP.
 
“We should not misuse our influence. This act is against the law,” the Wolesi Jirga Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said.
 
Kam Air officials have said that their staff are now not happy about flying to Bamiyan.
 
However, the governor of Bamiyan, Tahir Zaheer, has assured Kam Air that they need not worry as no threats will be posed to any future flights.

Police Arrest Five Over Illegal Diversion Of Plane

A Bamiyan MP’s son is among those arrested over Tuesday’s incident at the Bamiyan Airport which saw a group of people stop a Kam Air plane from landing.

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A delegation from the ministry of interior on Wednesday arrested five senior security officials over the illegal diversion of a Kam Air flight in Bamiyan on Tuesday.

Bamiyan MP Abdul Rahman Shaheedani’s son was among those arrested.

According to a source, the head of Bamiyan Airport’s security and the border police commander were among those arrested and the five were immediately transferred to Kabul.

This comes after two Bamiyan MPs, including Shaheedani, reportedly missed their flight in Kabul on Tuesday. On approach at the Bamiyan airport, the Kam Air plane, the MPs were booked on, was prevented from landing and forced to return to Kabul.

According to reports, relatives of the MPs converged on the runway preventing the plane, which was carrying 30 passengers, from landing.

Kam Air officials have said the relatives of the MPs also threw stones on the runway when the plane tried to land.

Once back in the capital, the plane refueled and again took off for Bamiyan – this time with the two MPs on board.

Earlier Wednesday, MoI spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said: “Our team is investigating the issue in order to identify and arrest people who motivated the people to enter the runway and prevent the flight from landing.”

Footage obtained by TOLOnews of the return flight to Bamiyan shows that MP Abdul Rahman Shaheedani, who was on board with another MP Ghulam Husain Naseri, argued that he made the move to “break the taboo” and to make people realize his “position” and his “place”.
 
“It should not be like this anymore - that I am not known (by the people). Today I broke the taboo,” Shaheedani told passengers in the video.
 
Passengers on the flight said they were upset over what happened.
 
“Mr. MP (Abdul Rahman Shaheedani), you know that we have a 10-year plan for Bamiyan’s reconstruction and by this move, you delayed the plan,” said a passenger on board.
 
Meanwhile, a number of MPs in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) on Wednesday condemned the act and called for a full investigation and for the guilty parties to be prosecuted.
 
“We apologize to the people of Afghanistan,” said Sadiqi Nilizada, an MP from Bamiyan. “I want to say that we are not part of those lawmakers who succeed on the back of people’s votes and then stand against those people.”
 
“Those security officials who let the people on to the runway and prevented the plane from landing should be sacked as soon as possible,” said Nasima Niazi, an MP.
 
“We should not misuse our influence. This act is against the law,” the Wolesi Jirga Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said.
 
Kam Air officials have said that their staff are now not happy about flying to Bamiyan.
 
However, the governor of Bamiyan, Tahir Zaheer, has assured Kam Air that they need not worry as no threats will be posed to any future flights.

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