Taliban call US drone flights over Afghanistan ‘act of aggression’, warn of consequences
Afghanistan's Taliban have condemned as an “act of aggression” the overflights conducted by US drones in the country's skies, warning of consequences if Washington fails to stop such flights.
“American drones are still flying in Afghanistan's airspace and they must stop doing this... We consider this an act of aggression and it must be stopped,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, was quoted as saying by the state-run Bakhtar News Agency on Saturday.
Mujahid also emphasized that the US and the rest of the world must respect the entire rights of Afghans.
The news agency pointed out that the overflights by American drones in Afghanistan is in breach of the Chicago Convention and other relevant international conventions, and is also a clear violation of Afghanistan's airspace.
Signed in 1942 among 52 countries, Article 6 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as Chicago Convention, stipulates, "No scheduled international air service may be operated over or into the territory of a contracting State, except with the special permission or other authorization of that State, and in accordance with the terms of such permission or authorization."
The Taliban government has previously warned Washington that there would be “bad consequences” if the US-operated unmanned aerial vehicles continued the violation of the country’s airspace.
The warning comes as the United States has reportedly increased its drone surveillance and strikes in Afghanistan despite formally pulling out troops after implementing a policy of death and destruction during twenty years of occupation.
According to the US media, President Joe Biden has asked his military top brass to carry out more drone strikes in Afghanistan on the pretext of counterterrorism operations.
Earlier in the month, Biden claimed in a report aired on TV that Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al-Qaeda leader and one of the world's most wanted terrorists and suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, had been killed in a CIA drone strike on a residential area in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul.
Taliban confirmed at the time the US airstrike on a residence in the Sherpur area of Kabul, but condemned the attack as a violation of international laws and a breach of a deal signed between the US and Taliban forces.
US troops withdrew from Afghanistan almost a year ago after the Taliban signed the 2020 Doha deal in which they agreed not to allow Afghanistan to be used again as a launchpad for international terrorists.
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