KARACHI: A private moving company is transporting a decommissioned Boeing 737 airplane between two cities in southern Pakistan by road, with video clips of the unusual journey widely shared on electronic and social media on Thursday.
The 200-seater plane took its first flight on Mar. 1, 1991 and was operated across Europe and the Middle East. It was retired in Karachi in 2014 after over 23 years in service and is now being shifted to Hyderabad for training purposes by New Babar Cargo Movers.
Although it takes around two hours to reach Hyderabad from Karachi by road, the plane’s journey is expected to take longer as the aircraft is being moved at a cautious speed. Transporting the plane on a 40-wheel trailer also required dismantling its wings, engines and wheels to enable safe intercity travel on the M-9 Motorway, the mover company said in a statement.
“The aircraft has crossed Karachi Toll Plaza and is now traveling from the M-9 Motorway toward Hyderabad,” the brief statement shared among media groups said, with local channels widely broadcasting visuals of the plane mounted on the trailer. “It will be driven at a speed of 20 to 30 kilometers an hour.”
Pakistan’s Geo TV quoted motorway police as saying the highway between the two cities would not be blocked during the transfer.
The vehicle carrying the aircraft has been instructed to drive on one side of the road, escorted by Civil Aviation Authority staff and security.
“The plane is being moved as per protocol,” the channel reported.
A notice from the National Highways and Motorway Police dated Oct. 31 said the transporter would be responsible if NHA property was damaged during the move or if any harm was caused to commuters.
“In case of any untoward incident or fatal accident during the transportation, the sole responsibility shall rest on the transporter,” the NHA said.
Media glee in Pakistan as Boeing 737 moved from Karachi to Hyderabad by road
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Media glee in Pakistan as Boeing 737 moved from Karachi to Hyderabad by road
- Plane was retired in Karachi in 2014 and will be used for training purposes in Hyderabad
- Transporting plane on a 40-wheel trailer required dismantling its wings, engines and wheels
Pakistan says $50 million meat export deal with Tajikistan nearing finalization
- Islamabad expects to finalize agreement soon after Dushanbe signals demand for 100,000 tons
- Pakistan is seeking to expand agricultural trade beyond rice, citrus and mango exports
ISLAMABAD: Tajikistan has expressed interest in importing 100,000 tons of Pakistani meat worth more than $50 million, with both governments expected to finalize a supply agreement soon, Pakistan’s food security ministry said on Tuesday.
Pakistan is trying to grow agriculture-based exports as it seeks regional markets for livestock and food commodities, while Tajikistan, a landlocked Central Asian state, has been expanding food imports to support domestic demand. Pakistan currently exports rice, citrus and mangoes to Dushanbe, though volumes remain small compared to national production, according to official figures.
The development came during a meeting in Islamabad between Pakistan’s Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain and Ambassador of Tajikistan Yusuf Sharifzoda, where agricultural trade, livestock supply and food-security cooperation were discussed.
“Tajikistan intends to purchase 100,000 tons of meat from Pakistan, an import valued at over USD 50 million,” the ambassador said, according to the ministry’s statement, assuring full facilitation and that Islamabad was prepared to meet the demand.
The statement said the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in meat and livestock, fresh fruit, vegetables, staple crops, agricultural research, pest management and standards compliance. Pakistan also proposed strengthening coordination on phytosanitary rules and establishing pest-free production zones to support long-term exports.
Pakistan and Tajikistan have long maintained political ties but bilateral food trade remains below potential: Pakistan produces 1.8 million tons of mangoes annually but exported just 0.7 metric tons to Tajikistan in 2024, while rice exports amounted to only 240 metric tons in 2022 out of national output of 9.3 million tons. Pakistan imports mainly ginned cotton from Tajikistan.
