A photograph of three men holding ‘pilot licence’ with a picture of helicopter embossed on certificate has gone viral on social media. The three bare-footed men wearing traditional Afghani attire can be seen holding certificates in their hands while sitting in an office. The photograph surfaced on February 7, when a journalist from Afghanistan, Kabul Khan, shared it on Twitter. He wrote, “Congratulation and good luck to Surgol, Torkhan and Hefzahullah, three pilots of the Taliban Air Force who graduated from a training course. They look great and ready for the Mission.”
He added, “No question they look like a Soldier and ready for the Mission.”
The photograph was also shared by Haroon Mobarez, General of the Ministry of Interior Commander of the 8th Brigade. He wrote, “The newly graduated Taliban pilots from a training centre. Their documents show that they have become pilots in the operational helicopter section. If, God forbid, when they fly, they will shoot from above any living thing they see on the ground.” (The tweet was translated from Persian to English using Google Translate.)
The same image was also shared by journalist Asaad Sam Handa.
Taliban grants flight certificates to the first three pilots in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/Pd1WaerZVK
— Asaad Sam Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) February 10, 2023
The photograph started a meme fest on the social media platform. Saffron Sripathi questioned if they will “fly” the plane or “blow” the plane.
#Taliban gives their first three flight pilot certificates to these three men. Who wants to catch the filght?
— Saffron Sripathi 🇮🇳 ⚡️ (@swamisripathi) February 11, 2023
Ye plane udayenge ya udayenge? pic.twitter.com/WWpQTupE4w
Twitter user MMAARRIIAA99999 called it “Non-stop flight to Jannat”.
Taliban grants flight certificates to the first three pilots in Afghanistan.
— 🖤 ماریہ شاہ 🖤 (@MMAARRIIAA99999) February 11, 2023
Non stop flight to Jannat. 😉
طالبان نے افغانستان میں پہلے تین پائلٹوں کو فلائٹ سرٹیفکیٹ دے دئیے۔ 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/cxG55ei8XS
Twitter user Calm_Shadow hoped they do not fly over India and questioned if they could “land”.
Taliban grants flight certificates to the first three pilots in Afghanistan!
— साhiL🇮🇳 (@Calm_Shadow) February 11, 2023
But the real question is can they land?👽🤔
Hope they don’t fly over India 🙅 pic.twitter.com/3mmzw74EIS
OpIndia could not independently verify the authenticity of the claims and the photograph. As of now, there are no reports of ‘pilot licence’ certificate handed out by the Taliban in Afghanistan. OpIndia tried Google reverse image search but could not find anything concrete regarding the same. Further, if the image is indeed true, no details about their training or ‘mission’ is available let.
