ISLAMABAD: In a landmark moment in Pakistan’s aviation history, the world’s largest passenger plane, Airbus A380, landed at the new Islamabad International Airport Sunday afternoon.
Operated by the Emirates airlines, the plane flew from Dubai in the morning and safely reached its destination in a little more than three hours.
Despite being a one-off flight, it was packed with commercial passengers, many of whom regularly travel between the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
The plane also carried some special guests to mark the occasion.
These included Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE, Moazzam Ahmed Khan, and Captain Fazle Ghani, who flew the first Emirates flight to the country in 1985.
The UAE airlines company intends to regularize this flight between Dubai and Islamabad in the coming days.
Its arrival today in the country’s federal capital is likely to convince other major airlines to include some major destinations in Pakistan in their flight schedules.
The new Islamabad International Airlines started operating at full capacity in the beginning of May 2018.
It is the biggest airport facility in Pakistan and it is estimated that it will serve 15 million passengers every year in the first phase of its operations.
World’s largest plane lands at Islamabad International Airport
World’s largest plane lands at Islamabad International Airport
- Emirates Airbus A380 landed at the new Islamabad International Airport on Sunday afternoon
- While it is a one-off flight, UAE’s airline company intends to regularize it in the coming days
Pakistan demands political dialogue, immediate ceasefire as Sudan conflict rages on
- Sudan’s civil war since April 2023 has killed over 40,000 people, displaced over 14 million people
- Pakistan urges Security Council to reject parallel government entities undermining state institutions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s UN envoy has demanded a political dialogue and an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, where fierce fighting has raged on for months between the military and a powerful paramilitary force.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting, with widespread mass killings and rapes, and ethnically motivated violence. This has amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the UN and international rights groups.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamal Idris, who heads its transitional civilian government, proposed a peace plan on Monday. Idris said his plan includes a ceasefire monitored by the United Nations, African Union and Arab League, and the withdrawal of paramilitary forces from all areas they occupy, their placement in supervised camps and their disarmament.
“There is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan,” Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s deputy ambassador at the United Nations, said on Monday. “The only durable path forward lies in a political dialogue and reconciliation.”
Jadoon said Pakistan supports all genuine efforts and political processes aimed at achieving an immediate cessation of hostilities and ceasefire, protecting civilians and providing unfettered humanitarian access to civilians.
He called on the UN Security Council to support all efforts to safeguard Sudan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and reject “so-called parallel government or structures” that undermine state institutions and risk the country’s fragmentation.
The Pakistani envoy called for maintaining “zero tolerance” for war crimes, including attacks against UN peacekeepers and humanitarian workers, with credible investigations and accountability of the perpetrators.
“The brotherly people of Sudan have suffered beyond measure,” Jadoon said. “The guns must be silenced; hopes for a brighter future rekindled; with peace and normalcy visible on the horizon.”
The devastating war in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people according to UN figures, but aid groups say the true number could be many times higher.
The conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with over 14 million people displaced, disease outbreaks and famine spreading in parts of the country.
