Ministry of Interior said on Thursday three Bamiyan officials have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation into this week’s illegal diversion of a Kam Air plane at Bamiyan airport.  
 
The MoI said the cases of these three officials will be sent to the Attorney General’s Office for further investigation. 
 
The officials suspended are the police chief of PD1 in Bamiyan, Bamiyan MP Abdul Rahman Shaheedani’s son, and a security official from Bamiyan police. 
 
“The task team has investigated the five individuals and took three of them to Kabul who are included of the head of Bamiyan Airport’s security, border police commander and head of Bamiyan’s PD1 police headquarters, our task team is seriously heavily working on the case and the case will be soon referred to the attorney,” said MoI spokesman Najib Danish. 
 
Two other officials are also being investigated for their role in the diversion. 
 
Meanwhile dozens of tourists are reportedly stranded in Bamiyan after Kam Air suspended its operations between the city and Kabul.
 
Some of these tourists are foreigners who were booked to connect in Kabul to Dubai and onwards. 
 
However, a number of them said they have now missed all connecting flights. 
 
“The issue once again demonstrated the weakness of government in some provinces, the powerful still say the final word,” said university lecturer Faizullah Jalal.
 
Meanwhile, Ahmad Fordous Rahimi, head of security for Kam Air, said: “Whenever the case is completed and once the civil aviation authority assured us of the complete security at the airport, we will continue our flights to Bamiyan.”
 
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 blocking 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.
 
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.
 
Kam Air officials have said that its staff no longer wants to fly in to Bamiyan.
 
However, the governor of Bamiyan, Tahir Zaheer, has assured Kam Air that they need not worry as no threats will be posed against any future flights.