ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Thursday became the first international air passenger carrier to send a regular flight to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, said an official statement.
The flight left the Peshawar airport earlier in the day and transported 168 passengers to their destination in the afternoon.
The official statement said PIA decided to launch regular flights to Fujairah on the special request of the ruler of the emirate.
"The royal family of Fujairah and other high-ranking officials welcomed the PIA flight and the airline's chief executive officer Air Marshal Arshad Malik," the statement added. "A traditional celebratory dance was also performed at the airport."
PIA passengers will go through a special 15-minute immigration process in Fujairah.
They will also get special buses that will transport them to other places in the UAE without charging them anything.
PIA becomes first international air carrier to launch regular flights to UAE's Fujairah
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PIA becomes first international air carrier to launch regular flights to UAE's Fujairah
- The first PIA flight transported 168 passengers from Peshawar to the new destination in the UAE
- The airline decided to launch regular flights to Fujairah on the request of the ruler of the emirate
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
