KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will formally invite Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the newlywed British royal couple, to visit the scenic northern areas of the country, the airline’s spokesman told Arab News on Monday.
“We have prepared the official draft of the invitation that will be delivered to the British High Commission in Pakistan on Tuesday,” said Mashood Tajwar, the spokesperson of the country’s national flag carrier.
“We are offering them to visit and enjoy the beauty of the northern areas of Pakistan on behalf of our managing director,” he added, saying that the royal couple would also enjoy the warm hospitality of the people of Pakistan.
In an apparent marketing move, PIA had earlier invited the newlyweds via a Twitter message to experience the splendor of the country’s northern areas, reminding them of Princess Diana’s four-day solo trip to the region in September 1991.
The princess had visited Peshawar and Chitral where she was presented with the area’s traditional cap, adorned with a beautiful feather, and an embroidered coat.
PIA also posted a picture of her wearing Gilgit-Baltistan’s traditional dress and sitting with two local children. The airlines offered to send the royal couple one of its aircraft if they accepted the invitation.
“We watched the Royal Wedding and remembered Princess Diana and her trip to the northern areas of Pakistan, and we thought how wonderful it would be for the newlyweds to visit our northern splendors as well. So, Prince Harry and Princess Meghan, we are ready, just let us know when,” PIA tweeted.
The invitation drew mixed responses on social media.
Some people expressed their readiness to welcome the royal couple, with some saying it was a nice gesture.
But others lambasted the airline for what they thought was its poor performance. “By the time they get to Lahore, the royal couple will have their first child,” mocked one social media user.
The country’s loss-making national flag carrier is aggressively working towards rebuilding its public image. However, it has been losing around Rs45 billion ($389.3 million) per year and its accumulated losses are estimated to be about Rs316 billion.
Recently, the Economic Coordination Committee approved a Rs20 billion bailout package for PIA — the fifth of its kind in one-and-a-half years.
The government has developed a strategic business plan to improve the performance of the airlines. The plan will prioritize segregation of non-core functions from core functions, product improvement, route rationalization, and cost reduction/optimization. It will also develop HR capability and modernize its IT systems.
PIA has refurbished its fleet of 32 aircraft. It has also abandoned unprofitable routes and increased the number of flights on profitable routes such as Saudi Arabia and China.
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Pakistan’s national airline to formally invite newlywed British royals to visit
Pakistan’s national airline to formally invite newlywed British royals to visit
- Formal invitation letter will be delivered to the British High Commission, PIA spokesperson tells Arab News
- Pakistan International Airlines hopes that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit the northern areas of the country, just as Princess Diana did in 1991
‘New progress’ on North Korea possible in coming days, Seoul official says
- Senior official says Seoul has made considerable efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue
- Trump administration has decided to lift sanctions for humanitarian aid projects to North Korea
SEOUL: A senior South Korean official said Friday “new progress” on North Korea could come within days, with a local report saying the Trump administration has decided to approve humanitarian sanctions exemptions for Pyongyang.
In a meeting with reporters in the United States, the senior official said Seoul has made considerable efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue.
“There could be some new progress in the coming days” on North Korea, the government official said on condition of anonymity.
Washington has long demanded that Pyongyang give up its banned nuclear weapons program, with the country under successive rounds of UN sanctions over it.
The South Korean senior official’s comments came while addressing US President Donald Trump’s scheduled trip to China in April.
Trump last year made repeated overtures to Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un during his barnstorming tour of Asia, saying he was “100 percent” open to a meeting and even bucking decades of US policy by conceding that North Korea was “sort of a nuclear power.”
North Korea did not respond to Trump’s offer, and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons.
South Korea’s daily Dong-A Ilbo reported on Friday, citing Seoul’s unnamed government sources, that the Trump administration has decided to lift sanctions for humanitarian aid projects to North Korea, at the UN Security Council’s 1718 Committee.
Analysts say the move would allow South Korea’s NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance — such as nutritional supplements, medical equipment and water purification systems — to North Korea, an improverished state that has struggled to provide for its people.
Trump met North Korea’s Kim three times. The US leader once famously declared they were “in love” during his first term, in efforts to reach a denuclearization deal.
But since a summit in Hanoi in 2019 fell through over differences about what Pyongyang would get in return for giving up its nuclear weapons, no progress has been made between the two countries.
Seoul and Washington earlier this week reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s “complete denuclearization” and cooperation on Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine plan, a move that has previously drawn an angry response from Pyongyang.
North Korea is set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party soon, its first in five years.
Ahead of that conclave, Kim ordered the “expansion” and modernization of the country’s missile production.
In a meeting with reporters in the United States, the senior official said Seoul has made considerable efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue.
“There could be some new progress in the coming days” on North Korea, the government official said on condition of anonymity.
Washington has long demanded that Pyongyang give up its banned nuclear weapons program, with the country under successive rounds of UN sanctions over it.
The South Korean senior official’s comments came while addressing US President Donald Trump’s scheduled trip to China in April.
Trump last year made repeated overtures to Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un during his barnstorming tour of Asia, saying he was “100 percent” open to a meeting and even bucking decades of US policy by conceding that North Korea was “sort of a nuclear power.”
North Korea did not respond to Trump’s offer, and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons.
South Korea’s daily Dong-A Ilbo reported on Friday, citing Seoul’s unnamed government sources, that the Trump administration has decided to lift sanctions for humanitarian aid projects to North Korea, at the UN Security Council’s 1718 Committee.
Analysts say the move would allow South Korea’s NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance — such as nutritional supplements, medical equipment and water purification systems — to North Korea, an improverished state that has struggled to provide for its people.
Trump met North Korea’s Kim three times. The US leader once famously declared they were “in love” during his first term, in efforts to reach a denuclearization deal.
But since a summit in Hanoi in 2019 fell through over differences about what Pyongyang would get in return for giving up its nuclear weapons, no progress has been made between the two countries.
Seoul and Washington earlier this week reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s “complete denuclearization” and cooperation on Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine plan, a move that has previously drawn an angry response from Pyongyang.
North Korea is set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party soon, its first in five years.
Ahead of that conclave, Kim ordered the “expansion” and modernization of the country’s missile production.
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