WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th September, 2021) Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a congressional testimony on Wednesday that he is concerned about the fate of US-trained Afghan pilots and other personnel who are currently held in Tajikistan after the US troops and embassy personnel fled Kabul.
"We will get with State (Department) right away to see if we can move this forward. I share your concerns," Austin told a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Reports have recently emerged about over 140 US-trained Afghan personnel who are currently being held outside of the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. The Afghans have been waiting for more than a month to be transferred by the US government.
There are at least two women among the pilots and one of them is eight months pregnant, according to media reports.
