Amrullah Saleh Praises Uzbekistan for Refusing to Hand Over Afghan Helicopters to Taliban

Kokcha News Agency – Amrullah Saleh, Chairperson of the Afghanistan Green Trend, has publicly thanked the government of Uzbekistan for its decision to withhold Afghan helicopters from the Taliban. In a statement, Saleh praised the move as a “wise decision” that will have a long-term positive impact on relations between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

Saleh highlighted that the Taliban has been misusing aircraft from the former Afghan Air Force for illegitimate purposes, including suppressing civil dissent, deploying militiamen to arrest and disappear local leaders, transporting notorious drug trafficker Bashir Noorzai, and facilitating the movement of leaders from designated foreign terrorist organizations.

He also accused the Taliban of using assets from the Republic era to consolidate their “clerical dictatorship,” disregarding Afghanistan’s multi-ethnic fabric and cultural diversity. Saleh argued that the Afghan people are safer with the helicopters stationed in Uzbekistan rather than in the hands of what he described as an “anti-national, illegitimate militia group” that operates without a constitution or adherence to civil laws.

Saleh’s statement underscores the ongoing tensions between the Taliban and former Afghan government officials, as well as the broader international concerns over the Taliban’s use of military assets.