KARACHI: After social media outrage following Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority’s (PCAA) decision to make plastic wrapping of all check-in luggage compulsory, the Authority on Saturday retracted its decision.
In a notification, authority said decision regarding compulsory wrapping check-in baggage at all airports “…to be treated as canceled ab initio with immediate effect.”
The compulsory order has come at a time when Pakistan has made moves toward environmental conservation with the government’s Clean and Green Pakistan initiative which includes a ban on single-use plastic bags from August 14 this year in the federal territory, and the launch of the Prime Minister’s drive to plant 10 billion trees over the next five years.
According to the PCAA earlier notification, Pakistan’s airports will create hundreds of tons of plastic waste, which runs contrary to these initiatives.
“The uproar over social media indicates that there are several misconceptions regarding the plastic wrapping of luggage,” Mujtaba Baig, PCAA spokesman, told Arab News just hours before the authority retracted its decision.
“We admit it’s non-biodegradable and thus not completely environment-friendly, but the sheet we use is very thin and can’t be reused,” Baig had said.
Luggage-wrapping was not a new practice, and used by passengers for years before the mandatory notice.
The notification, which came on Thursday, has not gone down well with the country’s lawyers and environmental campaigners who said on Sunday that they would challenge the notice in court.
“There is no provision in international or local aviation laws that mandates the imposition of plastic wrapping on baggage. The PCAA justification of safety and security of baggage is unreasonable and infringes upon travelers’ rights,” Amir Zafar Khan, a lawyer with experience in public interest litigation, told Arab News.
The notification states that charges for the plastic wrapping have been slashed from over Rs.400 per bag to Rs. 50 a piece.
PCAA earlier defended its decision, and said that even though it was aware of climate related issues, the move was necessary for the security and protection of checked-in luggage.
“We want to introduce biodegradable material for wrapping purposes,” PCAA spokesman, Mujtaba Baig, said. “But that will increase the cost of packing.”
On Sunday, Pakistan’s federal minister for human rights, Shireen Mazari, clarified the government’s position on the matter in a Twitter post, and said the PCAA notification was never discussed with the federal cabinet.
“The plastic covering for outgoing baggage notification is wrong. Federal govt was incorrectly mentioned as Federal Govt means Cabinet and no such issue was even discussed in Cabinet let alone decided upon,” she tweeted.
After social media uproar, Pakistan’s aviation authority retracts luggage-wrapping policy
After social media uproar, Pakistan’s aviation authority retracts luggage-wrapping policy
- Lawyers and environmentalists criticized the earlier notification on mandatory luggage-wrapping policy
- PCAA notification was never discussed with the federal cabinet, says federal minister
Pakistan says responding to Afghan ‘offensive operations’ after border fire as tensions escalate
- Afghan Taliban spokesperson says “large-scale offensive operations” launched against Pakistani military bases
- Pakistan says Afghan forces opened “unprovoked” fire across multiple sectors along shared border
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Thursday they had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military bases and installations, prompting Pakistan to say its forces were responding to what it described as unprovoked fire along the shared border.
The escalation follows Islamabad’s weekend airstrikes targeting what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militant camps inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad said the strikes killed over 100 militants, while Kabul said dozens of civilians were killed and condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
In a post on social media platform X, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had launched “large-scale offensive operations” in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said Afghan forces had initiated hostilities along multiple points of the frontier.
“Afghan Taliban regime unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border given an immediate, and effective response,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Pakistani forces were targeting Taliban positions in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, claiming heavy Afghan casualties and the destruction of multiple posts and equipment. It added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Separately, security officials said Pakistani forces had carried out counterattacks in several border sectors.
“Pakistan’s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression with full force,” a security official said, declining to be named.
“The Pakistani security forces’ counter-attack destroyed Taliban’s hideouts and the Khawarij fled,” they added, referring to TTP militants.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Cross-border violence has intensified in recent weeks, with Pakistan blaming a surge in suicide bombings and militant attacks on militants it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies providing safe havens to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
The clashes mark the third major escalation between the neighbors in less than a year. Similar Pakistani strikes last year triggered weeklong clashes before Qatar, Türkiye and other regional actors mediated a ceasefire in October.
The 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier, a key trade and transit corridor linking Pakistan to landlocked Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia, has faced repeated closures amid tensions, disrupting commerce and humanitarian movement. Trade between the two nations has remained closed since October 2025.
