ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said on Friday it had imposed a fine of one hundred thousand rupees on Turkish Airlines for failing to follow coronavirus standard operating procedures.
Pakistan has fined Turkish Airlines twice before — on October 13 and 21 last year — over coronavirus violations.
In a letter on Friday, CAA said Turkish Airlines had transported two passengers, Abdul Sattar and Tariq Ali, from Dakar, Senegal, to Istanbul for onward journey to Lahore on January 13, 2021 without proof of a negative coronavirus test
“ln view of the foregoing, Competent Authority has imposed penalty to the tune of PKR 100,000/- on Turkish Airlines and the same shall be deposited in CAA Collection Account … on immediate basis,” the CAA said. “Any recurrent violation of COVID-19 related SOPs shall be dealt with in a more stringent manner including but not limited to revocation of operating authorization granted to Turkish Airlines for flight operations to/from Pakistan.”
Last year, Pakistan issued a travel advisory under which inbound passengers were divided into two categories. Passengers from category A countries like China, Japan, New Zealand, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, do not need to undergo coronavirus tests while passengers from category B countries like Senegal need coronavirus-negative certificates to enter Pakistan.
Turkish Airlines gets third penalty from Pakistan for violating COVID-19 rules
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Turkish Airlines gets third penalty from Pakistan for violating COVID-19 rules
- Pakistan also imposed fines on Turkish Airlines on October 13 and 21 last year over coronavirus SOP violations
- CAA says two passengers on a flight from Senegal to Lahore did not have proof of a negative coronavirus test
Pakistan PM orders strategy to improve project execution as multilateral lenders propose reforms
- Shehbaz Sharif says he will personally lead a steering committee to speed up priority projects
- Four working groups proposed to streamline approvals, procurement, land issues and staffing
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed officials to draw up a detailed strategy to improve the planning and execution of development projects, saying he would personally chair a steering committee aimed at ensuring timely and transparent completion of priority schemes.
The move came during a meeting where the World Bank and Asian Development Bank presented recommendations to the government on strengthening project implementation.
According to the prime minister’s office, participants received a briefing that said project approvals involve multiple steps and need simplification, while timely procurement and better readiness tools could also help accelerate implementation.
“National projects of critical importance must be completed transparently and on time,” Sharif told officials, according to the statement. “This is our priority.”
He said the federal and provincial steering committee on development-sector reforms would be headed by him.
The statement said four working groups were also proposed during the meeting: one to review approval and preparation processes, a second to modernize procurement, a third to address land acquisition and resettlement challenges, and a fourth to focus on human-resource alignment and staff deployment for development schemes.
Sharif thanked the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for their support and said development projects must be aligned with the objectives of Pakistan’s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) and provincial Annual Development Plans (ADPs).
The meeting was attended by senior federal ministers, provincial representatives, senior civil servants and the country directors of both multilateral lenders.
