ISLAMABAD: The government will present the inquiry report of last week’s plane crash before a parliamentary session on June 22, said the country’s aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, on Thursday while requesting the media and the public not to speculate about the causes of the accident.
“This will be a provisional inquiry report based on free and fair investigation [into the incident]. Nobody should have any confusion about it,” the minister said while promising to release all the inquiry reports of the past 11 plane crashes as well
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane carrying 99 people including crew members crashed into a residential area near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi last Friday, resulting in 97 casualties. Two passengers miraculously survived the incident.
“It is my commitment to the nation that all information [related to the plane crash] will be shared with the public in the minimum possible time,” the minister said while announcing to lay the inquiry report in an upcoming parliamentary session on June 22.
Pakistan has a checkered history of aviation safety record that includes a number of air crashes. The country has witnessed 12 plane crashes including the recent one since 1947, out of which 10 involved PIA flights. The other two planes belonged to Air Blue and Bhoja Air.
The minister said that an independent inquiry board was looking into all aspects of the recent crash while an 11-member French team of experts had also collected evidence from the site of the incident to ascertain the causes of the accident.
“Why did this accident happen, how it happened and who is responsible for it, the whole nation is concerned about it,” the minister said, adding that all inquiry reports, including those focusing on past accidents, would not only be made public but also used to take action against all those who were found guilty of negligence.
He said that voice and data records had been found, and the French investigators would take them back to their country to decode them. “There are technical questions that you or I cannot answer. So, we will wait for experts to tell us,” he said.
“Whoever is held responsible [for the accident] will face dire consequences,” the minister said.
He also revealed that the pilot of the ill-fated plane tried to make belly-landing three times without announcing that its landing gears were not extending.
“It is a million-dollar question that he [the pilot] touched the runway three times, but then again lifted the plane up in the air,” he said, adding that the inquiry team would try to answer all the queries.
Out of 97 bodies, 51 have been handed over to their families after identification with the help of DNA tests while the identification process for the remaining bodies is still underway. “We are trying our best to hand over the bodies to their families as soon as possible,” the minister said.
He added that the government teams were surveying the damaged property and vehicles on the crash site to compensate the residents of Model Colony where the plane crashed.
“At least 15 homes are completely destroyed …. We will fully compensate their owners,” he added.
Plane crash inquiry report to be made public on June 22 – aviation minister
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Plane crash inquiry report to be made public on June 22 – aviation minister
- Ghulam Sarwar Khan revealed the pilot of the ill-fated plane made three botched attempts to make belly-landing
- Out of 97 plane crash victims, bodies of 51 have been identified with the help of DNA tests
Pakistan PM to attend World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Switzerland next month
- The WEF meeting, scheduled to be held in Davos on Jan. 19-23, will focus on global challenges, public-private dialogue and cooperation
- Government, business, civil society and academia leaders will engage in forward-looking discussions to address these issues, set priorities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Switzerland next month to attend the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Pakistani state media reported on Monday.
The WEF annual meeting, themed as ‘A Spirit of Dialogue,’ will be held from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23 in Davos, where world leaders from government, business, civil society and academia will engage in forward-looking discussions to address global issues and set priorities.
Prime Minister Sharif is expected to interact with global leaders and investors on economic challenges, regional and international issues and various opportunities for cooperation.
On Monday, Deputy PM Ishaq Dar presided over a meeting in Islamabad to oversee preparations for Sharif’s upcoming visit to Switzerland to attend the WEF meeting, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Dar instructed to maximize the engagements with the incoming Heads of States, Governments and senior leadership of economic, business and financial institutions,” the report read.
The WEF meeting program will be structured around key global challenges where public-private dialogue and cooperation, involving all stakeholders, is necessary for progress, according to the WEF website.
In addressing these challenges, growth, resilience and innovation will serve as cross-cutting imperatives, guiding how leaders engage with today’s complexity and pursue tomorrow’s opportunities.
Pakistani foreign ministry officials briefed the deputy PM about preparations for the WEF meeting, according to Radio Pakistan. The participants of Monday’s meeting in Islamabad discussed in detail the bilateral component and media engagements during the visit.
“He [Dar] further stressed that opportunities be explored to foster collaboration with private sector business entities,” the state broadcaster said.
