Current Final

Category: Politics

  • ‘Searching for mother’s body a nightmare’: Desperate pleas for help after losing family in PIA crash

    ‘Searching for mother’s body a nightmare’: Desperate pleas for help after losing family in PIA crash

    As Fazal Rahman, 80, and his wife, Wahida Rahman, 74, boarded a plane in on Friday, their family’s biggest fear was that they might get catch the coronavirus on their way to spend the holiday in Karachi.

    Instead the couple, who had been married for 54 years, were among the 97 people killed when an Airbus A-320, operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), crashed into a Karachi neighbourhood — country’s worst air disaster since 2012.

    READ: PK8303 — not the first: Timeline of major Pakistani air crashes

    “We held many calls deliberating with doctors and family […] Our biggest concern was that they made the trip safely,” said their son, Inamur Rahman, who instead of welcoming his parents for the Eidul Fitr holidays found himself picking through the wreckage of flight PK-8303 praying for a miracle.

    https://twitter.com/SiddiquiNaveid/status/1265341000987394050

    “I got in my car and followed the smoke and the ambulances,” said Rahman. “When I saw the area, I realised that it would be a miracle if they had made it,” he added.

    “I lost both my parents in this tragic & horrific crash. I submit to Allah’s will. However the ordeal we are suffering at the hands of #PIA is inexcusable. Callous, Insensitive, incompetent…. #PIAPlaneCrash [sic],” tweeted his brother, Adil Rahman.

    There were two survivors from onboard the aircraft, while no fatalities were reported on the ground in the densely packed neighborhood of multi-story homes abutting the eastern edge of Jinnah International Airport where the plane came down.

    More than two dozen homes were damaged as the airliner roared in, leaving a tangle of severed electric cables and exposed rebar — a broken wing rested against the side of a home, an engine on the ground nearby.

    The jet fuel set the wreckage ablaze, along with homes and vehicles, sending black smoke into the sky, a Reuters witness said.

    Crowds rushed to the site, relatives searching for loved ones, rescue workers and the curious. Scores of ambulances and fire-engines jammed the narrow, debris-cluttered streets.

    One rescue worker told Reuters two bodies were found with oxygen masks on. Many bodies pulled from the wreckage were charred beyond recognition.

    Airline’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik said on Friday the last message from the pilot indicated a technical problem. A team from Airbus is due to arrive to investigate, a PIA spokesperson said.

    SCREAMS AND FIRE:

    Shahid Ahmed, 45, was at the airport waiting for his mother to arrive. When he reached the crash site he saw rescuers retrieving bodies and people taking selfies.

    “There was no one responsible at the site, people were busy posing for pictures,” said a distraught Ahmed, who lost his mother, Dilshad Begum, 75, who was also flying to Karachi for Eid.

    After scouring the site and failing to find his mother, Ahmed went to look for her in hospitals.

    There was no list of the dead or injured at any of the hospitals, it was all chaos and mismanagement,” said Ahmed, who sobbed as he recounted the ordeal.

    “Searching for our mother’s body was a nightmare.”

    READ: ‘Ertuğrul’, Bollywood stars react to PIA crash

    One of the survivors, engineer Muhammad Zubair, told a local media outlet the pilot came down to land, briefly touched down, then pulled up again.

    He announced he was going to make a second try shortly before the plane crashed, Zubair said from the hospital.

    “I could hear screams from all directions. Kids and adults. All I could see was a fire. I couldn’t see any people – just hear their screams,” he said.

    PLEA FOR HELP:

    Meanwhile, Arif Ali Faruqui says his entire world came crashing down just two days before Eid as his wife and three children were also onboard the ill-fated plane.

    In a video message, Faruqui of Lahore asked Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to help him in identifying the remains of his family while casting doubt over the handling of the DNA sampling by authorities.

    “If I hadn’t identified my wife or daughter’s bodies, the authorities could have handed over the remains of the wrong people,” says Faruqui in a video message that, according to The Express Tribune, has gone viral.

    He urged PM Imran to take action against the “red tape and bureaucracy” faced by people who lost loved ones in the crash.

    Faruqui says his wife wanted to spend Eid in Karachi with her mother, who has terminal cancer.

    “The decision to send the kids was taken very late as they wanted to see their grandmother,” he told.

    READ: PIA crash survivor recalls what happened

    Sitting outside the emergency ward of Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital in, he broke down while narrating his ordeal.

    “The process for getting death certificates and collecting remains is extremely insensitive and inept,” said Faruqui, who had to identify the charred remains of his family.

    After facing delays in the handing over of remains of identified family members, Faruqui says he is being harassed by police as the burial took place without issuance of death certificate.

    “I was questioned for 90 minutes and the document is still not issued,” he told

    There is also a trust deficit between authorities, he added. “Two separate teams of Sindh and Punjab are conducting DNA tests.” He added that some people had even taking remains from the morgue without confirmation of identity.

  • ‘You have crossed the border, please go back,’ Indian army to Chinese soldiers

    ‘You have crossed the border, please go back,’ Indian army to Chinese soldiers

    A Himalayan border standoff between old foes India and China was triggered by India’s construction of roads and airstrips in the region as it competes with China’s spreading Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Indian observers said on Tuesday.

    Soldiers from both sides have been camped out in the Galwan Valley in the high-altitude Ladakh region, accusing each other of trespassing over the disputed border, the trigger of a brief but bloody war in 1962.

    About 80 to 100 tents have sprung up on the Chinese side and about 60 on the Indian side where soldiers are billeted, Indian officials briefed on the matter in New Delhi and in Ladakh’s capital, Leh, said.

    Both were digging defences and Chinese trucks have been moving equipment into the area, the officials said, raising concerns of a long faceoff.

    “China is committed to safeguarding the security of its national territorial sovereignty, as well as safeguarding peace and stability in the China-India border areas,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s office said in a statement.

    “At present, the overall situation in the border areas is stable and controllable. There are sound mechanisms and channels of communication for border-related affairs, and the two sides are capable of properly resolving relevant issues through dialogue and consultation.”

    There was no immediate Indian foreign ministry comment. It said last week Chinese troops had hindered regular Indian patrols along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

    But interviews with former Indian military officials and diplomats suggest the trigger for the flare-up is India’s construction of roads and airstrips.

    “Today, with our infrastructure reach slowly extending into areas along the LAC, the Chinese threat perception is raised,” said former Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao.

    “Xi Jinping’s China is the proponent of a hard line on all matters of territory, sovereignty. India is no less when it comes to these matters either,” she said.

    After years of neglect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has pushed for improving connectivity and by 2022, 66 key roads along the Chinese border will have been built.

    One of these roads is near the Galwan valley that connects to Daulat Beg Oldi airbase, which was inaugurated last October.

    “The road is very important because it runs parallel to the LAC and is linked at various points with the major supply bases inland,” said Shyam Saran, another former Indian foreign secretary.

    “It remains within our side of the LAC. It is construction along this new alignment which appears to have been challenged by the Chinese.”

    China’s BRI is a string of ports, railways, roads and bridges connecting China to Europe via central and southern Asia and involving Pakistan, China’s close ally and India’s long-time foe.

  • Taliban deny plan to target Delhi, say ‘Kashmir is India’s internal matter’

    Taliban deny plan to target Delhi, say ‘Kashmir is India’s internal matter’

    Taliban have denied claims of joining Kashmiris’ freedom movement and attack New Delhi in retaliation against Indian atrocities under Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s regime that Pakistan and the international community fear is leading to the ethnic cleansing of the troubled valley’s majority Muslim community.

    According to Hindustan Times, the militant group has underlined that the Taliban “do not interfere in internal affairs of other countries”, saying the statement published in the media about the group joining Jihad in Kashmir was wrong.

    “The policy of the Islamic Emirate is clear that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.” Suhail Shaheen, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the political wing of Taliban calls itself, tweeted in Arabic.

    The clarification came after officials monitoring social media noted a spike in posts around claims that Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said it was impossible to be friends with India unless the Kashmir dispute was resolved. The spokesperson was also claimed to have said that the Taliban, after capturing power in Kabul, would also “capture Kashmir from infidels”.

    Diplomats based in Kabul and Delhi said that the Taliban spokesperson’s clarification came after India worked the backchannels to confirm reports about the group’s approach to India, and on Jammu and Kashmir.

    New Delhi was told that the social media posts were fake and did not reflect Taliban’s position.

    But analysts have also underlined that Taliban comprises people holding different beliefs. For example, while the group has alleged deep linkages with the deep state of some countries, there are also some who favour an independent line.

  • ‘Eid tomorrow,’ says Fawad ahead of moon-sighting committee’s meeting

    ‘Eid tomorrow,’ says Fawad ahead of moon-sighting committee’s meeting

    Ahead of the Ruete Hilal committee’s meeting scheduled for later today for moon sighting, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that the Shawwal moon could be sighted tonight.

    “The Shawwal moon was born on May 22 at 10:30 pm and will be visible between 7:36 pm and 8:15 pm tonight in Badin, Thatta and Pasni,” Chaudhry said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday, and also tweeted it.

    The minister said that according to the calendar prepared by his ministry, Eid will be celebrated on May 24 in many countries including Pakistan. He also shared the link to ‘The Ruet’ app on Twitter.

    Saturday will be the last day of Ramzan and Sunday is the first day of Eid in many countries.

    The government has earlier announced six Eid holidays from May 22 to 27 both of the public and private sectors. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior, Friday, May 22 to Wednesday, May 27, will be Eid holidays in the country.

    Meanwhile, addressing the presser, Fawad regretted that “there are always different announcements by the Reute Hilal Committee and Qasim Khan Mosque [of Peshawar, headed by Mufti Popalzai].”

    He also rejected the notion that there was no relation between the sighting of the moon according to Islamic practices and the use of technology in doing so.

    “Nowhere in the world is moon sighting an issue. With advances in technology it has become easier to sight the moon,” Fawad said.

  • PIA crash survivor recalls what happened

    PIA crash survivor recalls what happened

    One of the two people to survive a plane crash in Karachi that killed 97 people has described jumping from the burning wreckage of the aircraft after it hurtled into a residential neighborhood.

    The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on Friday after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, the airline said.

    Its wings sliced through rooftops, sending flames and plumes of smoke into the air as it crashed onto a street, sparking a rescue operation that lasted into the night.

    Commercial flights in the country resumed only days ago, ahead of Eidul Fitr, after planes were grounded during a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.

    “After it hit and I regained consciousness, I saw fire everywhere and no one was visible,” Mohammad Zubair, 24, said from his hospital bed in a video clip circulated on social media.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “The cries were everywhere and everybody was trying to survive. I undid my seat belt and I saw some light and tried to walk towards it. Then I jumped out.”

    Zubair had suffered burns but was in a stable condition, a health ministry official said.

    The airline named the other survivor as the president of the Bank of Punjab (BoP), Zafar Masud.

    The health ministry for Sindh on Saturday confirmed that the 97 bodies recovered from the crash site had been on the plane.

    At least 19 had been identified so far, while DNA testing was being carried out at the University of Karachi to help name the rest of the victims.

    A local hospital earlier reported it had received the bodies of people killed on the ground.

    The disaster comes as Pakistanis prepare to celebrate Eid, with many traveling to their homes in cities and villages.

    “Eid has become meaningless not only for Karachi but the whole of Pakistan,” said Ziaul Huq Qamar, who lives near the crash site.

    Several members of the armed forces who were flying home to their families to celebrate the holiday were among the dead, the military said.

    Shahbaz Hussain said his mother, who was also among the victims, had been flying back to Karachi after becoming stranded by the lockdown in Lahore while visiting her daughters.

  • Punjab ‘controls’ coronavirus numbers by sending lab staff on Eid holidays, resulting in less testing

    Punjab ‘controls’ coronavirus numbers by sending lab staff on Eid holidays, resulting in less testing

    The secret behind the sudden drop in number of new coronavirus cases being reported in Punjab has been revealed as journalist Amber Rahim Shamsi quoted Punjab Minister for Industries, Commerce, Investment and Skill Development Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal as saying that lab workers had been given Eid holidays, resulting in less testing.

    After easing lockdown restrictions, Punjab has generously announced six Eidul Fitr holidays from May 22 to May 27, which means the rate of increase in the number of cases in Punjab started going down Friday as lab personnel, who had been working tough shifts since the outbreak began, started getting off work and heading home to celebrate Eid with their families.

    The number of COVID-19 infections in Punjab, which increased from 13,914 to 14,584 from May 16 to May 18 and then 16,685 on May 20, stood at 18,455 on Friday with over a thousand cases being reported every day since May 17-18.

    However, the same number on Saturday stands at 18,730 with an increase of just 275 cases — unlike what trends had suggested.

    “It is true that labs have started working at a lower capacity that is leading to the number of cases going unreported as of yet,” a provincial health official told The Current on the condition of anonymity. They refused to comment on the government’s decision of allowing Eid holidays to lab personnel, but said it was a much-needed relief.

    “Things will get back to normal and the testing capacity will be restored after… or maybe even during Eid,” the official added.

    By the time this report was filed, the total number of coronavirus infections in Pakistan stood at 52,437 with 1,101 deaths. Sindh topped the chart with 20,883 cases, followed by Punjab with 18,730 infections, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 7,391 and Balochistan with 3,198. Islamabad had reported 1,457 cases while Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Azad Kashmir had 607 and 171 infections, respectively.

  • PK8303 — not the first: Timeline of major Pakistani air crashes

    PK8303 — not the first: Timeline of major Pakistani air crashes

     

    At least 97 people have been killed after an Airbus A320 passenger airliner crashed into a residential neighbourhood while on approach to the airport in Karachi.

    Only two male passengers of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK8303 from Lahore to Karachi survived the crash that wasn’t the first in Pakistan’s history, and, unfortunately, might not be the last.

    The country has a chequered aviation safety record, and here is a timeline of the air crash tragedies that shook Pakistan.

    May 20, 1965

    PIA Boeing 707 crashes during inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 passengers.

    August 6, 1970

    PIA Fokker F27 aircraft crashes while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing 30 on board.

    December 8, 1972

    Another PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Rawalpindi, leaving all 26 passengers dead.

    November 26, 1979

    A PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashes shortly after take off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people.

    October 23, 1986

    PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Peshawar, leaving 13 out of 54 passengers dead.

    August 25, 1989

    Another PIA Fokker crashes in Gilgit with 54 people on board. The wreckage was never found.

    September 28, 1992

    A PIA Airbus A300 crashes while approaching Kathmandu after the plane descended too early, killing 167 people.

    July 10, 2006

    PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Multan shortly after take off, killing 45 people.

    July 28, 2010

    Airblue Airbus 321 from Karachi crashes in Margalla Hills outside Islamabad, leaving all 152 passengers dead.

    April 20, 2012

    A Bhoja Air Airbus 737 from Karachi crashes in Islamabad due to bad weather, killing all 127 passengers.

    December 7, 2016

    PIA ATR-42 aircraft flying from Chitral to Islamabad, crashes near Abbottabad. 48 people died in the incident, including singer-turned-preacher Junaid Jamshed.

    Friday’s tragic episode was the first commercial airliner crash since 2016. There have, however, been a number of chartered and military jet crashes.

  • A minute before landing, two days before Eid: What we know about PIA’s ill-fated flight PK8303

    A minute before landing, two days before Eid: What we know about PIA’s ill-fated flight PK8303

    In yet another tragic chapter of Pakistan’s aviation history, Karachi-bound flight PK8303 of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Lahore on Friday crashed in a residential area of the port city a bit over a minute away from the airport, and two days before Eid.

    A Google Maps screen grab of the distance from the crash site of PIA’s PK8303 to the airport

    A majority among the 91 passengers of the ill-fated flight — also carrying seven crew members — was of those who were heading back home to celebrate Eid in Karachi, as the government lifted the ban imposed on domestic air travel to curb the spread of COVID-19.

    While a rescue operation is underway and conflicting reports about the number of survivors and fatalities pour in, here’s everything we know so far.

    THE FLIGHT AND THE CRASH:

    The aircraft, which FlightRadar24.com identified as a 15-year-old Airbus A320, took off from the eastern city of Lahore for Karachi.

    “The last we heard from the pilot was that he has some technical problem,” the national carrier’s spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan said in a video statement. “He was told from the final approach that both the runways were ready where he can land, but the pilot decided that he wanted to do a go-round.”

    Speaking to a foreign media outlet, one senior civil aviation official said it appeared the plane was unable to open its wheels due to a technical fault prior to landing, but it is too early to determine the cause.

    “The plane first hit a mobile tower and then crashed over houses,” a witness Shakeel Ahmed said near the site, just a few kilometres short of the airport — in the Jinnah Garden area of Malir’s Model Colony.

    A video, purportedly showing Fridays crash, is also doing rounds over mainstream and social media.

    CAUSE OF THE CRASH:

    While it still remains too early to determine the cause of the crash, an audio clip of the last conversation between the flight’s pilot and the control tower has been released.

    The pilot sent a Mayday — emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications — and told controllers the aircraft had lost power from both its engines on its second attempt to land.

    After the aircraft reportedly called off an earlier attempt to land and went around for a second attempt, a controller radioed the pilot that he appeared to be turning left, suggesting he was off-course.

    The pilot replied, “We are returning back, sir, we have lost engines,” and the controller cleared the plane to land on either of Karachi airport’s two West-Southwest-facing runways.

    Twelve seconds later the pilot called “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” and was again cleared to use either runway. There was no further communication from the aircraft.

    PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik confirmed that the pilot, in his last words, had said that there was a technical fault with the aircraft. “The pilot was told that both runways were ready for him to land. However, the pilot decided to do a go-around. Why did he do that, due to what technical reason, that we will find out,” he said, before hopping on a plane to Karachi.

    https://twitter.com/HamzaSiddiquiPK/status/1263813137800855552

    While experts say that what actually caused the crash “will only be determined after the black boxes are opened”, it has been learnt that there has been no permanent director general for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the past two years.

    POSSIBLE SURVIVORS AND FATALITIES?

    Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Bank of Punjab (BoP) President and CEO Zafar Masud as well as Urban Unit CEO Khalid Sherdil were also on the ill-fated flight that crashed in Karachi, seats 1C and 1F, respectively.

    According to reports, Masud was shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Malir Cantt, where he is receiving treatment and is said to be out of danger. There was no word on Sherdil by the time this report was filed.

    As per various unconfirmed reports, anywhere between 14 to 40 passengers have survived. Dozens of others, however, are feared dead, which also include locals who are said to be buried under debris of their houses, or lost their lives due to the fire that broke out following the crash.

    A rescue operation is underway and the military has also rushed to the aid of civilian authorities.

    Military’s assistance to speed up relief and rescue efforts in the densely populated area was announced by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

    PRESIDENT, PM REACT TO CRASH:

    As condolences pour in, President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan have offered their condolences to the families of the victims while also praying for the safety and earliest recovery of the survivors.

    The premier has ordered an investigation into the tragedy as well.

    “Shocked and saddened by the PIA crash. Am in touch with PIA CEO Arshad Malik, who has left for Karachi and with the rescue and relief teams on ground as this is the priority right now [sic],” he tweeted, announcing that an immediate inquiry would follow.

  • PIA flight from Lahore crashes in Karachi

    PIA flight from Lahore crashes in Karachi

    A Karachi-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Lahore on Friday crashed a bit over a minute away from the port city’s airport, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources said.

    The plane that crashed in Karachi’s Model Colony, was reportedly carrying 95 passengers.

    A video available with The Current showed houses located in the locality’s Jinnah Bagh area on fire.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Rescue teams are en route to the site of the crash, a cloud of thick black smoke can be seen over which.

  • Fawad Ch seeks abolition of Ruete Hilal Committee, again

    Fawad Ch seeks abolition of Ruete Hilal Committee, again

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has once again demanded the abolition of the Central Ruete Hilal [moon-sighting] Committee.

    Fawad, while criticising the committee, argued that there was no need for such a committee in the modern era.

    He also claimed that the committee, which is headed by Mufti Muneebur Rehman, wants Eid to fall on Monday, May 25 instead of Sunday, announcing to reveal motives of the committee behind such a move during a press conference.

    Last year, the minister had proposed that a scientific committee should replace the Central Ruete Hilal Committee for the sighting of the moon, which had led to the committee taking strong exception.

    Chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman had asked Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to “rein in” his ministers after Fawad had accused clerics of making lunar sighting for Islamic months a controversial affair every year as well as opposing the creation of Pakistan.

    “Fawad Chaudhry’s statement against the opposition is his personal matter, but he should exercise restraint while commenting on religious scholars and not misquote history,” he said. “Who knows… one of them might also have a role in your [Fawad] appointment.”

    He had urged the premier to “control his passionate ministers”, who “lack knowledge about the system”.