ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will resume flights to Europe, US and other destinations by March, the aviation minister said on Thursday, as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has withdrawn its objections over the country’s 2020 fake pilot licenses controversy.
Pakistani carriers were barred from operating flights to Europe by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2020 after the country’s aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, said 40 percent of Pakistani pilots had obtained dubious licenses.
The minister had said that these pilots had cheated on their mandatory license exams. His statement caused damage to Pakistan’s national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as its flights were restricted around the world, and also dealt a blow to the civil aviation industry’s image.
The statement from the minister came after a May 22, 2020 plane crash in Karachi killed more than 90 people.
On Thursday, however, the ICAO said Pakistan had resolved significant safety concerns over the pilots’ fake licenses issue
Sarwar held a press conference on Thursday to announce the “good news” for the new year, adding that Pakistan would also start flight operations to Central Asian destinations such as Tashkent, Baku and Bishkek.
The minister said Pakistan is hoping to resume flight operations to three destinations in the UK, London, Birmingham and Manchester. He said the country also wants to resume flight operations to Oslo and Paris in mainland Europe.
He said flight operations to Canada would also resume soon.
Speaking about the ICAO audit team’s visit to Pakistan, Sarwar said he had invited them to see for themselves how Pakistani authorities had resolved their safety concerns and taken steps to improve the training and licensing processes for the pilots.
During their visit to Pakistan last year, the ICAO audit team inspected Pakstan’s Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) flying clubs, observed the domestic flight departures and also visited Pakistan’s airports. They also examined the safety measures in place and received the pilot examination system.
The minister said the CAA had contacted UK’s CAA, EASA and the US’s civil aviation to inform them that the safety concerns raised by the ICAO had been resolved and asked them to lift the restrictions imposed on Pakistani-registered aircraft.
Pakistan to restart flights to EU, US, UK by March — aviation minister
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Pakistan to restart flights to EU, US, UK by March — aviation minister
- Pakistan to resume flight operations to three destinations in the UK, Birmingham, London and Manchester
- Pakistan’s civil aviation contacts EU and US civil aviations, ask them to lift ban on Pakistani carriers
Pakistan, Egypt reaffirm support for dialogue, diplomacy to resolve regional issues
- The development comes amid tensions over Yemen following the Southern Transitional Council advance into Hadramaut, Al-Mahra
- Saudi Arabia has invited factions in south Yemen to hold a dialogue in Riyadh to 'discuss just solutions to the southern cause'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Egypt have reaffirmed their support for dialogue and diplomacy as the preferred means to resolve regional issues, the Pakistani foreign office said on Sunday, amid tensions over Yemen.
The development comes days after Saudi Arabia-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said it conducted a “limited” airstrike targeting two shipments of smuggled weapons and other military hardware coming from the Emirati port of Fujairah into Mukalla in southern Yemen.
Coalition Forces spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said the weapons and combat vehicles were meant to support the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Yemen's Hadramaut and Al-Mahra "with the aim of fueling the conflict." The UAE has since announced withdrawal of its remaining troops from Yemen, rejecting any actions that could threaten the Kingdom or undermine regional stability.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty over the phone and discussed the current regional situation with him, according to a Pakistani foreign office statement.
"Both leaders reviewed current regional situation and appreciated efforts of all parties in resolving issues through dialogue and diplomacy," the statement said.
Separately, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has invited factions in south Yemen to hold a dialogue in Riyadh to “discuss just solutions to the southern cause.” The STC on Saturday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s invitation to take part in the inclusive dialogue among southern Yemeni factions.
Disregarding previous agreements with the Arab Coalition, the STC group had launched a sweeping military campaign early in December, seizing the governorates of Hadramaut along the Saudi border and the eastern governorate of Al-Mahra in Yemen’s border with Oman. It also took control of the strategic PetroMasila oilfields, which account for a massive portion of Yemen’s remaining oil wealth.
Pakistan this week expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to the Kingdom’s security.
“Pakistan expresses complete solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and reaffirms its commitment to security of the Kingdom,” Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters at a weekly news briefing.
“Pakistan maintains its firm support for the resolution of Yemen issue through dialogue and diplomacy and hopes that Yemen’s people and regional powers work together toward inclusive and enduring settlement of the issue, safeguarding regional stability.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a landmark defense pact in September last year, according to which aggression against one country will be treated as an attack against both. The pact signaled a push by both governments to formalize long-standing military ties into a binding security commitment.
