A Pakistani government helicopter on Thursday crash-landed in Taliban-held territory in neighboring Afghanistan and all passengers and crew are feared captured by the insurgents, officials said.
The helicopter went down in Logar Province, close to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border — an increasingly lawless area since a two-year Pakistani military operation pushed many Taliban and allied fighters further into Afghanistan.
“Those detained by the Taliban are Pakistanis,” said Sameem Saleh, spokesman for Logar’s governor. “The chopper was not shot, but made the landing because of technical failure.”
A Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman confirmed that a helicopter belong to the Punjab provincial government had gone down, saying the fate of the crew was not yet clear.
“The Afghan authorities have assured us they will investigate and learn about the whereabouts of the helicopter and the passengers,” spokesman Nafees Zakaria said.
He said seven passengers were on board, six of them Pakistanis and one Russian technician.
The pilot was Pakistani.
The aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan airspace on its way to Uzbekistan further north, he said.
Pakistan Army Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif spoke with the US’ top commander in Afghanistan, US Army General John Nicholson, on Thursday asking for the international military coalition’s help in recovering the Pakistani personnel, Pakistan Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said on Twitter.
Hameed Khan, governor of Logar’s Azra District, said the helicopter landed in his border district, which lies across from Pakistan’s Kurram agency.
“They were detained by the Taliban,” Khan said.
A senior Pakistani military official said the Russian-made Mi-17 transport helicopter was en route from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan to Uzbekistan for maintenance when it experienced technical failure and made an emergency landing.
He said there was no information about the occupants.
Other military officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said three of those aboard the helicopter were retired security officials.
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