Crew of Punjab govt helicopter recovered from Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: The crew of a Punjab government helicopter which made an emergency landing in eastern Afghanistan has been recovered, sources told Geo News on Thursday.

They said that the crew ? five Pakistanis and a Russian technician ? has been shifted to Pakistan.

The helicopter, en route to Russia for a routine overhaul,  made the emergency landing in the restive Logar province in eastern Afghanistan on August 4.

After the incident, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the government was using "formal and informal channels" to seek the return of seven passengers of the helicopter.

"Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew," Prime Minister said in a statement from his office.

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif had also called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to request his country's help.

On the day of the incident, the army chief had also contacted top US commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson asking for his international military coalition's help in recovering the men.

Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria had said the aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan airspace on its way to Uzbekistan further north for overhauling.