Hopeful Europe will lift flight ban by April 2023 — Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority

A Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777 comes in to land at Heathrow airport in west London on June 8, 2020. (AFP/File)
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Updated 06 October 2022
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Hopeful Europe will lift flight ban by April 2023 — Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority

  • European Commission has invited Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority for a technical meeting on October 25 this year
  • EASA suspended PIA authorization to operate in EU member countries over licensing, flight safety concerns in 2020

KARACHI: Pakistan said on Wednesday it was hopeful its flight operations to European countries would be revived by April 2023 as the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) said it was working “constructively” with Pakistan’s civil aviation to rebuild its “confidence in the certification and oversight capabilities.”

In July 2020, the EASA had suspended Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) authorization to operate in EU member countries over licensing and flight safety concerns.

The licensing scandal tainted Pakistan’s aviation industry and the country grounded 262 airline pilots suspected of dodging their exams following checks of their qualifications.

Pakistan’s grounding of the pilots followed a preliminary report on a PIA crash in Karachi that killed 97 people in May 2020.

The EASA suspension was later extended indefinitely. 

In January, the EASA refused to lift the ban citing an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) indicating serious degradation of the PCAA certification and oversight capabilities.

But the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) says there has been an improvement in capabilities since.

“The European Commission (EC) has invited Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority for a technical meeting on October 25, 2022. We are hopeful that the matters will be resolved by April 2023,” Saifullah Khan, a PCAA spokesperson, said.

Khan said that the EC looks after mutual concerns involving the EASA, PIA and other airlines.

“The process of verification is underway and it takes [time],” he said. “In the last stage, the European Union will visit Pakistan, which is being scheduled,” he told Arab News, adding the EASA had also planned to do an online audit of the PIA in October.

The EC team intends to visit Pakistan in January-February 2023 after conducting PIA’s audit, he said.

Janet Northcote, Head of Communications EASA, said the EC and European Union Aviation Safety Agency were working with Pakistan to rebuild its confidence.

“The European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency are working constructively with the Pakistan CAA to rebuild confidence in the certification and oversight capabilities of the Pakistan authority, which is the first step required for a resumption of PIA flights to Europe,” she told Arab News via email.

Northcote said the EASA will conduct an audit of the operator. 

“EASA shall – when considering lifting a suspension of a TCO authorization – conduct an audit of the operator. When the suspension is due to major deficiencies in the oversight of the applicant by the State of the operator or the State of registry, the audit may include an assessment with the aim to verify if these oversight deficiencies have been corrected,” she added.

Northcote said since the EASA is the European Union Aviation Safety Agency— the word Union was added in 2018 and that the UK is no longer a member— hence its decision will not impact a similar ban by the UK.

“Any decisions taken by the European Commission working with EASA will not directly result in any change to the provision of flights to the UK,” she added.

A PIA official, however, said the EC’s meeting cannot be described as a milestone.

“The EC meeting is just facilitation and cannot be called a milestone,” he said. “It’s the EASA which has to take a decision and it takes its decision strictly taking progress on the safety scores for airlines into consideration,” the official told Arab News on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak on the issue. 

PCAA’s spokesperson said last year’s assessment showed the authority had fared well. 

“PCAA scored above average [in] South Asia’s score in that assessment and later significantly safety concerns were lifted,” he said.


KP CM directs authorities to remain alert as rains kill 5, injure 8 in two days 

Updated 11 sec ago
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KP CM directs authorities to remain alert as rains kill 5, injure 8 in two days 

  • Heavy rains in northwestern Pakistan since Apr. 12 have killed at least 65, injured over 80
  • KP chief minister asks authorities to submit detailed report on losses suffered due to heavy rains

PESHAWAR: The chief minister of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Sunday directed authorities to remain alert after heavy rains in the northwestern province killed five and injured eight in the last two days. 

At least 65 people have been killed and over 80 injured in KP from rain-related incidents since Apr. 12. Three men and two women were killed in the last two days from rain-related incidents while five children, two men and one woman were reported to be injured, the latest report from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said. 

“Fourteen houses in total were damaged due to lightning strikes and from the walls or roofs of the house collapsing,” the report said. “One house was completely destroyed while 13 were damaged.”

The deaths were reported in KP’s Bajaur, Battagram, Mansehra, Buner, Dir Upper and Lower districts, the PDMA said. 

“KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur has directed district administrations and other concerned departments to remain alert in view of the upcoming rain spell in the province,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said. 

Gandapur asked authorities to submit a detailed report on the losses suffered due to heavy rains in the province. 

“The provincial government is with the affected people during this hour of grief,” Gandapur said, according to a statement from his office. “Those affected will not be left alone and they will be offered every help.”

Separately, the PDMA has issued an alert about rains and snowfall in different parts of the province, adding that the current spell of rain will continue in the city till Tuesday.

“The PDMA has advised all the relevant departments to stay alert for restoring road links for traffic in case of closure due to landslides,” Radio Pakistan reported. 

“The control room of PDMA is operational round the clock and people can contact by dialing 1700 in case of any emergency.”


A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life

Updated 48 min 17 sec ago
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A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life

  • Pakistan’s largest Hindu festival, Hinglaj Yatra, began on Friday and ends on Sunday
  • Organizers says more than 100,000 are expected to participate in the festival 

HINGLAJ, Pakistan: The ascent of steep mud volcanoes marks the start of Hindu pilgrims’ religious rituals in southwestern Pakistan.

They climb hundreds of stairs or clamber over rocks to reach the summit, tossing coconuts and rose petals into the shallow crater while seeking divine permission to visit Hinglaj Mata, an ancient cave temple that is the focus of their three-day worship.

The dramatic surroundings of Hingol National Park in Baluchistan province are the setting for Pakistan’s largest Hindu festival, Hinglaj Yatra, which started on Friday and ends on Sunday. Organizers say more than 100,000 Hindus are expected to participate.

Muslim-majority Pakistan is home to 4.4 million Hindus, just 2.14 percent of the population, and Hinglaj Mata is one of the few Hindu sites that continues to draw large numbers of pilgrims every year from across the country.

Muslims and Hindus generally live peacefully in Pakistan, from where most of the Hindus migrated to India when it was divided by British colonialists in 1947. But there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years as relations between the rivals remain tense.

Hindu devotees walk toward a mud volcano to start Hindu pilgrims' religious rituals for an annual festival in an ancient cave temple of Hinglaj Mata in Hinglaj in Lasbela district in the Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP)

Hindus believe Hinglaj Mata is one the places where the remains of Sati, the goddess of marital felicity and longevity, fell to earth after she ended her life.

Maharaj Gopal, the temple’s most senior cleric, explains why people flock to it.

“It is the most sacred pilgrimage in the Hindu religion,” said Gopal. “Whoever visits the temple and worships accordingly during these three days will have all of their sins forgiven.”

The journeys begin hundreds of kilometers (miles) away, mostly from neighboring Sindh province. Hundreds of packed buses set off from cities like Hyderabad and Karachi, traveling along the Makran Coastal Highway that hugs Pakistan’s south and southwest.

Hindu devotees attend an annual festival in an ancient cave temple of Hinglaj Mata in Hinglaj in Lasbela district in the Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP)

But there’s scant parking and vehicular access to the holy sites, so many pilgrims disembark and complete their travel by walking over parched and rocky terrain, sometimes barefoot and carrying children or luggage.

It’s a few kilometers (miles) from the main road to the mud volcano and then, from there, almost 45 kilometers (25 miles) to Hinglaj Mata.

Winds buffet the desert-like conditions, churning up dust that whips the eyes, nose and mouth. The pilgrims’ festive cheer and brightly colored apparel are a contrast to the arid landscape. Strong gusts distort people’s celebratory cries of “Jai mata di” and “Jai shiv shankar.”

Kanwal Kumar, 28, was visiting the temple for the first time with her husband. “We have yet to conceive a child after six years of marriage, so we are hopeful for help from the goddess,” she said. “We believe that no one returns empty-handed. All wishes are granted by Hinglaj Mata.”

The Hindu festival brings the Pakistani park to life. Hundreds of stalls spring up to sell snacks, drinks, jewelry, and clothing. Vats of hot food are prepared in the open air or thatched huts. Pilgrims purchase coconuts, sweetmeats, flowers, and incense for their ritualistic offerings.

Aloo Kumar, 55, wanted to express her gratitude to Lord Shiva, one of Hinduism’s three most important deities. “He blessed our family with a grandson,” Kumar said, gesturing toward the boy beside her cradling his baby sibling. “We prayed for a grandson during last year’s festival.”

Hindu devotees perform their rituals during an annual festival in an ancient cave temple of Hinglaj Mata in Hinglaj in Lasbela district in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP)

Hinglaj Mata thrums with activity, even after dark. Fairy lights and other decorations adorn the shrine and pilgrims jostle for position in front of it, sometimes holding up babies so the deities can bless them. Stewards urge them to pay their respects and move along.

The park’s Hingol River provides Hindu pilgrims with the opportunity for ritual bathing, like the Ganges in India.

While there is no ban on Hindu worship in Pakistan, openly practicing the faith is not routine as ties between India and Pakistan are broken. Their interactions are riddled with animosity and suspicion after having fought three wars, built up their armies and armed them with nuclear weapons.

Travel restrictions and hostile bureaucracies largely keep people from crossing the border for leisure, study and work, although the countries sometimes make exceptions for religious pilgrimages, usually for India’s Sikhs.

The decades of political hostility present a challenge for the minority Hindu community, as many in Pakistan equate Hindus with India. The reverse exists in India, where Muslims complain of discrimination.

Versimal Divani, the general secretary of Hinglaj Mata, lamented that only Hindus in Pakistan can attend the festival.

“We can visit this temple in our beloved country whenever our heart desires,” said Divani. “But this is not the case for the rest of the world’s Hindus. I would like the Pakistani government to issue them visas so they can come here and take blessings with them. It’s good for people-to-people contact and it’s good for the economy too.”
 


Pakistan considers Chinese nationals’ security its ‘core responsibility,’ says interior minister

Updated 28 April 2024
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Pakistan considers Chinese nationals’ security its ‘core responsibility,’ says interior minister

  • Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meets Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren in Islamabad
  • A suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan last month killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani 

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi this week assured China’s consul general that the security of Chinese nationals in the South Asian country is Pakistan’s “core responsibility,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said, as Islamabad looks to bolster security of foreign nationals amid a surge in attacks. 

Pakistan says it has taken steps to enhance Chinese nationals’ security in the country after a suicide bomber last month attacked a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project in the northwestern town of Dasu. Five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack. 

The attack was the third major one in a little over a week on China’s interests in the South Asian nation, where Beijing has invested over $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of its wider Belt and Road initiative.

“Chinese nationals’ safety is our core responsibility, instructions have been issued to the concerned agencies to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens,” Naqvi told Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren during a meeting in Islamabad on Saturday. 

“The minister informed about the measures taken about the security of Chinese citizens, adding that it is our national responsibility.”

The minister assured Shiren that Pakistani authorities would not allow conspiracies to harm Pakistan’s friendship with China. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese envoy said the two countries were all-weather friends. 

Chinese interests in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have also been under attack primarily by the militants, who seek to push Beijing out of the mineral-rich territory.

Pakistan is home to an insurgency launched by ethnic Baloch separatists who seek secession from the central government in the country, blaming it for the inequitable division of natural resources in the southwestern Balochistan province. The government denies this. 


Pakistan to conduct week-long polio vaccination drive in Sindh, KP from Apr. 29

Updated 28 April 2024
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Pakistan to conduct week-long polio vaccination drive in Sindh, KP from Apr. 29

  • Campaign to begin in 25 districts of Sindh, 13 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, says state media 
  • Eight million children in Sindh, 2.8 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be vaccinated during campaign

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government will conduct a week-long polio immunization program in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Sindh provinces from Apr. 29, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus, which causes paralysis and can be a life-threatening disease, is endemic.

“A week-long National Immunization Campaign will begin in twenty-five districts of Sindh and thirteen districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from tomorrow,” Radio Pakistan said in a report. 

Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting of the Provincial Task Force for Eradication of Polio in Karachi on Saturday. Shah directed all district administrations to cooperate with the polio teams and make the drive successful, the report said. 

“The meeting was informed that around eight million children up to the age of five years would be administered anti-polio vaccines during the campaign,” the report said. 

Meanwhile, over 2.8 million children will be administered anti-polio drops during the drive, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Operation Center said. 

“Twenty-one thousand teams have been constituted for this purpose,” the report added. 

Pakistan’s efforts to contain polio have often been met with opposition, especially in the country’s northwestern KP province, where militants have carried out attacks against vaccinators and the security teams guarding them. 

Many believe in the conspiracy theory that polio vaccines are part of a plot by Western outsiders to sterilize Pakistan’s population.

Pakistani masses’ doubts regarding polio campaigns were exacerbated in 2011 when the US Central Intelligence Agency set up a fake hepatitis vaccination program to gather intelligence on former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. 


Six-day ‘Study in Dubai’ fair highlights UAE’s growing appeal to Pakistani students

Updated 28 April 2024
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Six-day ‘Study in Dubai’ fair highlights UAE’s growing appeal to Pakistani students

  • Foreign student enrollment has increased in Dubai since the launch of its education policy over six years ago
  • Educational professionals say Dubai is competing with traditional destinations like the US, UK and Australia

ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has gained traction as a major higher education destination for Pakistani students, university representatives and local admissions professionals noted this week, as the six-day “Study in Dubai” fair concluded in Lahore on Saturday after touring various cities.
Dubai has seen a significant increase in foreign student enrollments since the launch of the UAE National Strategy for Higher Education 2030 more than six years ago. UAE authorities reported this month international enrollments have risen by 25 percent since the 2022-23 academic year, including a seven percent increase among Pakistani students.
Education professionals believe Dubai is increasingly competing with traditional education destinations such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
“What we have observed is that Pakistani students have started moving toward the Emirates,” Muhammad Shoaib told Arab News on Tuesday when the education fair was held in Rawalpindi.
“This is particularly because there have been some policy changes in the mainstream destinations, like Canada, Australia and the UK,” he continued. “Furthermore, we have seen that many reputable universities from the US, UK and Australia have started opening their campuses in Dubai.”


Dubai is currently home to 45 private universities offering over 650 programs, with degrees in business, engineering, information technology and media being the most sought-after among students.
Several top-ranking institutions of learning, including New York University, University of Birmingham, and Australia’s Curtin University, have opened their campuses there in recent years.
Wali-Ur-Rehman, the country manager for Curtin University’s Dubai campus in Pakistan, said the growth in international enrollment was due to increased postgraduate funding and greater job opportunities for those pursuing higher education in Dubai.
“We have seen a massive growth, from 2023 to 2024, of 40 percent [in terms of student applications] in the [Dubai] market, coming from Pakistan especially,” he said.
Daniyal Ahmed, a 19-year-old aspiring candidate for study in Dubai, described the UAE as an “ideal option” for him due to its proximity to Pakistan.
“Dubai has well-known universities now, like New York University and Khalifa University, which are performing quite well,” he said.

In this photograph, taken on April 23, 2024, Pakistani education consultant speaks to aspiring candidate for higher education in abroad during an event with the title “Study in Dubai” in Rawalpindi. (AN Photo)


Asked about the traditional destinations preferred by students pursuing higher education, he said Pakistanis were beginning to face difficulties in securing visas to go to European universities.
Ahmed also mentioned Dubai’s education strategy, saying it included an expanded professional experience initiative, providing a variety of career training programs to students, such as on-campus work, job shadowing, joint ventures and vocational training.