First female Afghan air force pilot flees

Afghanistan’s first female air force pilot, who was promoted as a symbol of the progress made by women since the fall of the Taliban, has been granted asylum in the United States after pleading that it was too dangerous for her to return home.

Niloofar Rahmani, 27, a former Afghan air force captain, left her homeland for training in the US in 2015 amid death threats directed at her and her family by the insurgents.

The US government, which funded Rahmani’s training and promoted her as evidence that Afghanistan had turned a corner during 17 years of war since 9/11, has now accepted that she cannot return and granted her the right to remain.

The decision, revealed in the same week that Isis bombers killed 30 people including nine journalists in Kabul, was welcomed by Rahmani. However, several of her close family remain in hiding. The deteriorating security situation that prevented her return to Afghanistan underscores the US struggle to salvage a sustainable peace from a conflict that has embroiled western forces since 2001. The Taliban announced the start of its annual spring offensive last week, ignoring a peace offer made by President Ashraf Ghani.

The latest assessment by the US watchdog overseeing the war and reconstruction effort has found that Afghanistan’s domestic security forces, trained by the US at a cost of almost US$80 billion (NZ$114b), continue to fragment in the face of the Taliban onslaught. John F Sopko, special inspector-general for Afghanistan reconstruction (Sigar), found that Afghan forces had haemorrhaged more than 35,000 troops in the past year, 10 per cent of their personnel. The report found a corresponding rise in territory under Taliban control, suggesting that many Afghan troops had either laid down their arms or switched sides.

For Rahmani the decision to grant her asylum is a huge relief after months in limbo. ‘‘I’m really happy and thankful to all the people who made this happen,’’ she told The Wall Street Journal. ‘‘All I want now is to go back to my dream of flying.’’

She became a national celebrity in Afghanistan when she completed her pilot training in 2013 and rose to the rank of captain.

Eager to show that the western-backed government in Kabul was assuming responsibility for its own security and making a break with the past, the Nato coalition touted Ms Rahmani as proof of new rights and opportunities enjoyed by Afghan women. She has qualified to fly C-130 transport aircraft. – The Times