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 military says 13 militants killed in counterterror operations across northwest
- Military says counterterror operations launched in Bajaur, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber and South Waziristan districts
- The counterterror operations take place as Afghanistan and Pakistan remain locked in conflict since late last month
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces this week killed 13 militants in five separate counterterror operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the military’s media wing said on Sunday, vowing to eliminate militancy from the country.
The counterterror operations were conducted on Mar. 6-7, with Pakistani troops killing five militants in the northwestern Bajaur district in the first operation. In two other encounters in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan district, security forces killed three militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
Meanwhile, five other militants were killed in two separate counterterror operations in Khyber and South Waziristan districts in which five more militants were slain.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from Indian-sponsored killed khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” ISPR said in a statement.
Pakistan’s military frequently uses the term “Fitna al Khwarij” to describe TTP militants. The militant outfit has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces since 2007 in a bid to impose their strict brand of Islamic law across the country.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of sheltering the TTP and facilitating their attacks against Pakistan, a charge Kabul has denied. Pakistan also accuses India of supporting these militant groups, which New Delhi has repeatedly rejected.
The counterterror operations take place as Pakistan remains locked in conflict with Afghanistan since late February.
The worst fighting between the two sides began late last month when Afghan forces launched a surprise attack on Pakistani military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said the assault was in retaliation for Pakistan’s earlier airstrikes in February on what Islamabad described as militant camps inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday that Islamabad has killed 527 Afghan Taliban fighters and injured more than 755 since clashes began.
Afghanistan has also claimed attacking multiple Pakistani military bases and killing several Pakistani soldiers. Arab News has not independently verified the claims by both sides.
Pakistan has ruled out talks with Afghanistan and said it will continue its military operations in the country till it withdraws support for militant groups that Islamabad says operate from Afghanistan.
