ISLAMABAD: Etihad Airways said this week it would launch a new route to Pakistan’s northwestern Peshawar city in September as part of a broader expansion of its global network.
The route will link Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport with Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar starting September 29.
Etihad, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, already operates flights to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, making Peshawar its fourth nonstop destination in Pakistan.
“We are thrilled to further expand our presence in Pakistan with the launch of our daily service between Abu Dhabi and Peshawar,” Antonoaldo Neves, the airline’s chief executive officer, said.
“This new route reflects our commitment to providing vital connectivity for travelers between Pakistan and the Gulf, Africa, Europe and North America,” he added.
Etihad will initially operate the route five times a week using Airbus A320 family aircraft, with daily service beginning November 22. The aircraft will feature eight Business Class and 150 Economy Class seats.
The announcement comes amid a busy year for the airline, which has added 16 new destinations in 2025, including Prague, Warsaw, Algiers, Tunis, Atlanta and Addis Ababa.
Etihad is also boosting frequency to Karachi to 17 flights a week starting October 1 and expanding service to major European cities such as Paris, Milan and Frankfurt.
Passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi will also have access to the airline’s Stopover program, offering up to two complimentary nights at premium hotels in the UAE capital.
Etihad Airways announces new Peshawar route, expanding Pakistan network
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Etihad Airways announces new Peshawar route, expanding Pakistan network
- Five weekly flights to Peshawar will launch in September, increasing to daily service from November
- Peshawar will become Etihad’s fourth gateway to Pakistan and its sixteenth new destination in 2025
Pakistani man on trial over Trump assassination plot with ties to Iran— US prosecutors
- Asif Merchant, 47, met with men in New York in 2024 he thought he was recruiting to carry out political assassinations, prosecutors say
- Merchant is a deeply religious man who frequently traveled to Iran and Pakistan to meet his separate families, his lawyers say
NEW YORK: The trial began this week of a Pakistani man who US prosecutors say had ties to the Iranian government and traveled to New York to meet with men he thought he was recruiting to carry out political assassinations on American soil, including potentially of President Donald Trump.
Asif Merchant, 47, faces a life sentence if he’s convicted of “terrorism” charges. His trial got underway Wednesday in a federal court in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors said in court filings that a man who Merchant initially met when he arrived in New York in April 2024 later notified authorities about the plot and became a confidential informant, The New York Times reported. Merchant later paid a $5,000 advance to two would-be assassins who were actually undercover FBI agents, prosecutors said.
At the time, Merchant did not specify who the target would be, but court filings show the potential targets included high-level officials such as Trump.
Merchant, who has maintained his innocence, is a deeply religious man who frequently traveled to Iran and Pakistan, where he has separate families, which his lawyers noted is legal in both countries he calls home. They told jurors Wednesday that there was simply not enough evidence to show their client was involved in some type of plot.
Prosecutors told jurors that Merchant sketched out his plans by putting objects on a hotel napkin to represent people and places in a potential assassination plot, including the target, crowd and buildings. The killing would have occurred during the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice or equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
