A Pakistan’s Punjab Government Mi-17 helicopter crash landed on Thursday in Afghanistan’s Logar province, where Taliban militants took the crew hostage before setting the helicopter on fire.
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He also said, in a statement posted online, that efforts are also underway for the safe recovery of the crew members of the helicopter.
The helicopter was being sent to Uzbekistan for overhauling when it crashed in Azra district, official said.
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Afghan government spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said police were escorting the tourists when the ambush happened about 90 miles from the western city of Herat, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported.
Senior Pakistani officials say the fate of those on board is not yet clear. “Gen Nicolson assured all possible help in this regard”, said a tweet from Lt-Gen Bajwa on Thursday night.
Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif spoke with top USA commander General John Nicholson on Thursday asking for the worldwide military coalition’s help in recovering the Pakistani personnel, military spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa, said in a tweet.
“The Afghan government has instructed the defence and security agencies to investigate whether or not it was the same helicopter for which permission had been sought”, Afghan defence ministry spokesperson Daulat Waziri said.
He said seven passengers were on board, six of them Pakistanis and one a Russian technician.
Pakistani army spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa said the Russian-made chopper was being flown to Russia via Uzbekistan for maintenance.
Provincial spokesman Jilani Farhad said the insurgents opened fire on a minibus travelling from Bamyan province and also used an improvised explosive device.
According to Pakistan’s Express Tribune daily, the army has denied that the helicopter was theirs.
Spokeswoman Jenny Jones said that the British embassy in Kabul helped its citizens that were affected by the attack and said that the diplomatic institution was coordinating actions with Afghan officials.
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In May 2015, the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines, the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, two pilots and a crew member were killed when the Pakistani Mi-17 carrying them crashed in northern Naltar valley.
