DHL resumes Afghanistan service

JAKARTA: Air delivery company DHL Worldwide Express said it would resume its operations in Afghanistan, which have been frozen for 15 years, starting on Wednesday.

"The initial objective is for us to take part in distributing the global humanitarian aid currently being provided to this country in the aftermath of war and destruction," DHL chairman and chief executive Uwe Dorken said in a statement.

The company halted its services in Afghanistan at the outset of the country's war against the former Soviet Union.

The company said its first weekly flight would be from Bahrain, which is the base of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, to Kabul. The company admitted it would act as a freight forwarder for U.S. military forces.

Bahrain is DHL's distribution hub for the Middle East, and is the base for a fleet of seven aircraft. --JP