ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan International Airlines plane crash in Karachi last month, which killed 97 people aboard, was caused by the pilots’ overconfidence and lack of focus, revealed an initial inquiry report into the incident that was unveiled in the National Assembly of Pakistan on Wednesday.
“Several warnings and alerts related to speed, landing gear and ground proximity were disregarded [by the air crew],” said the 21-page report that was shared by the country’s aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, with his colleagues in parliament.
Shortly after the crash, critics and opposition members lambasted Prime Minister Imran Khan and his administration for its failure to improve the national flag carrier’s performance and skills of its technical staff, including pilots. The country has a spotty record of aviation safety, and it has witnessed frequent plane and helicopter crashes over the years.
The PIA Airbus A320 crashed last month in a densely populated residential neighborhood in Karachi that is situated near the Jinnah International Airport, killing all but two of the 97 people on board. The ill-fated flight PK8303 from Lahore came down about a kilometer short of the runway on its second attempt to land.
“The landing was undertaken with landing gears retracted … Both engines scrubbed the runway at various locations causing damage to both of them,” the inquiry report said.
The minister also revealed on the basis of Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) that the pilots were not focused.
“The pilots were discussing the coronavirus throughout the flight. They were not focused … There was overconfidence,” Khan said.
The minister also blamed the control tower for not pointing out damage to the plane after a botched attempt at landing. “The pilots and the controller failed to follow the standard rules,” he noted.
There was no technical fault in the plane and both the pilots were medically fit to fly, the minister continued, adding that the pilot retracted the landing gears at a distance of five nautical miles from the runway even though they were extended before.
Khan said the plane was on auto-landing, but the pilot disengaged it.
Pakistan has witnessed 12 plane crash incidents since its inception in 1947, and the minister attributed the staggering statistics to the lack of merit within the organization.
“Unfortunately, the degrees of four of our pilots were found bogus while forty percent pilots have fake licenses,” he said while vowing to restructure the national airlines and take action against all those responsible for making “political appointments.”
Pakistan has 860 active pilots while 262 of them did not appear in the exam themselves, revealed the minister, adding that the accountability will be ensured.
“An inquiry has been initiated into the fake licenses of pilots,” Khan added.
PIA crash that killed 97 caused by pilots’ 'overconfidence' — preliminary report
https://arab.news/bqg5e
PIA crash that killed 97 caused by pilots’ 'overconfidence' — preliminary report
- Aviation minister says there was no technical fault in the plane and the pilots were medically fit to fly
- Shocks his listeners by telling them that 40 percent of the pilots in the country have fake licenses
India bans imports from Pakistan amid tension over tourist killings
- New Delhi has issued a notification barring goods coming from or transiting through Pakistan
- Pakistani-flagged ships and Indian-flagged ships are barred from entering each other’s ports
NEW DELHI: India said on Saturday it had banned the import of goods coming from or transiting via Pakistan and barred Pakistani ships as tensions rise between the nuclear-armed neighbors in the wake of a deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region.
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification that the ban would take effect immediately.
“This restriction is imposed in the interest of national security and public policy,” it said.
Suspected militants killed at least 26 people in last week’s attack on a mountain tourist destination in the Pahalgam area of the Kashmir valley.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and has been the focus of several wars, an insurgency and diplomatic standoffs.
India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack, which Islamabad denies. Pakistan has said it has “credible intelligence” that India intends to launch military action.
Pakistan’s retaliatory measures have included halting all border trade, closing its airspace to Indian carriers and expelling Indian diplomats.
It has also warned that any attempt to prevent the flow of river water promised under a decades-old treaty would be considered an act of war.
On Saturday, India said Pakistani-flagged ships would not be allowed to visit any Indian port, and Indian flagged-ships would not visit any ports in Pakistan.
“This order is issued to ensure safety of Indian assets, cargo and connected infrastructure, in public interest and for interest of Indian shipping,” the Directorate General of Shipping said in an statement.
Trade between the two nations has dwindled over the last few years.
Türkiye reaffirms solidarity with Pakistan after Kashmir attack, urges restraint amid regional tensions
- The Turkish envoy in Islamabad meets PM Sharif, says Ankara appreciates Pakistan’s position
- Sharif says Pakistan’s focus remains on economic recovery, which requires regional peace
ISLAMABAD: Türkiye has reaffirmed its solidarity with Pakistan following the April 22 attack at a tourist hotspot in Indian-administered Kashmir while calling for de-escalation and restraint to preserve peace in South Asia, the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad said on Saturday.
The assault in Pahalgam, a popular destination in the disputed Himalayan region, killed 26 tourists last month. India accused Pakistan of orchestrating the attack, an allegation Islamabad has since denied repeatedly.
The Pakistani administration has also called for an international investigation into the incident, warning that India’s claims risk further inflaming tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
With Islamabad engaged in active diplomacy to project its stance over the issue, Turkish Ambassador Dr. Irfan Neziroglu met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and conveyed Ankara’s appreciation for Pakistan’s response earlier today.
“The Turkish Ambassador informed the Prime Minister that Türkiye appreciated Pakistan’s position and expressed its solidarity with Pakistan while calling for de-escalation and urging restraint in the current crisis to maintain peace and security in South Asia,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
During the meeting, Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s offer for a credible, transparent and neutral international probe into the Pahalgam attack and welcomed Türkiye’s potential participation in such an inquiry.
Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had urged both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint after the attack.
Pakistan and Türkiye share close diplomatic, economic and defense ties.
Turkish defense firms have helped modernize Pakistan’s Agosta 90B-class submarines and supplied military equipment including drones and targeting systems.
The two countries also hold regular joint military exercises, most recently the Ataturk-XIII drills aimed at enhancing interoperability.
Sharif also told the Turkish envoy that Pakistan’s focus remained on economic recovery and growth, which required peace and stability in the region.
He highlighted Pakistan’s longstanding struggle against militant violence, pointing out the country had sacrificed 90,000 lives and incurred $152 billion of losses.
Five militants killed, two apprehended in separate operations in Pakistan’s northwest
- A paramilitary troop was killed in Balochistan amid reports of attacks on a passenger bus and government buildings in the province
- Pakistan has been battling twin insurgencies in its western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan that border Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Five militants, belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed and two others were apprehended in three separate operations in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Saturday.
Pakistani security forces killed three militants, including a high-value target, in an intelligence-based operation in KP’s Bajaur district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Two TTP militants were killed in the second operation in the North Waziristan district, while security forces busted a TTP hideout in the Mohmand district and arrested two members of the outlawed group.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from these khwarij (TTP militants), who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other kharji found in the area.”
Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in KP in recent years, where the Pakistani Taliban, or the TTP, have mounted their attacks against security forces and police since their fragile, months-long truce with Islamabad broke down in late 2022.
Late last month, the Pakistani military said it had killed 71 militants in three days of operations in the North Waziristan district that borders Afghanistan.
The number was usually high in Pakistan’s battle against militancy and instability along its border with Afghanistan during the nearly four years since the United States withdrew its military support from the country and the Taliban took over Kabul.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of supporting the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups, an allegation denied by Kabul.
Pakistan is also facing an intensifying separatist insurgency in the southwestern Balochistan province.
On Friday, a Levies paramilitary troop was killed in an attack on a check-post in Balochistan’s Kalat district, while there were reports of militant attacks on government buildings in Mangochar city, according to a Levies official.
“One Levies soldier was killed after gunmen targeted a Levies check-post in Kot Langove, an area of Kalat district,” Levies official Muhammad Ramzan told Arab News.
“Many armed militants obstructed the Quetta-Karachi highway in Mangochar and there are reports that many government buildings were torched in Mangochar Bazaar.”
The official said they were gathering more details about the incidents.
In another attack, armed men targeted a passenger bus heading to Karachi from Quetta in Khad Kocha area near Mastung.
“Six passengers were injured in the attack who were later shifted to Nawab Ghosh Bukhsh Memorial Hospital,” Mastung Deputy Commissioner Raja Atthar Abbas told Arab News.
“They were the same militants who attempted to take control of the highway in Kalat, but couldn’t succeed in blocking the road.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but suspicions are likely to fall on Baloch separatists.
In March, fighters from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group hijacked the Jaffar Express train in Balochistan’s Bolan region, holding hundreds of passengers hostage.
The military launched a rescue operation in which 354 passengers were freed and 33 militants were killed. Officials said the hijacking killed 31 soldiers, railway staff and civilians.
Pakistani kickboxer Abdullah Chandio defeats Jordanian opponent in Karate Combat-54 event in Dubai
- The 24-year-old defeated Jordan’s Ali Alqaisi via unanimous decision after three rounds
- Chandio, who hails from Karachi, made an impressive international debut in October 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani kickboxer Abdullah Chandio on Friday defeated his Jordanian opponent Ali Alqaisi in the Karate Combat-54 event in Dubai.
Chandio has been competing in the ongoing KC-54 championship in Dubai along with another Pakistani fighter Shahzaib Rind.
The 24-year-old defeated his Jordanian opponent via a unanimous decision after three rounds.
“The heat from multiple days all got unleashed tonight, and bother[ed] fighters gave it all they had,” Karate Combat wrote on their Instagram account.
“Abdullah Chandio takes the win after 3 intense rounds with Alqaisi.”
Karate Combat is a brand which promotes the first professional full-contact karate league. It has been hosting worldwide events since April 2018.
Chandio, 24, who hails from Karachi, made an impressive international debut in 2022 by knocking out his Indian opponent Muhammad Shuhaib in the BKK Kickboxing Championship in Dubai.
Pakistan test-fires surface-to-surface missile amid strained ties with India
- India-Pakistan tensions have soared after New Delhi blamed an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists on April 22, on Pakistan
- Islamabad has denied involvement and said India was using the attack as a pretext to conduct strikes against Pakistan, vowing to defend its sovereignty
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has conducted a successful training launch of a surface-to-surface missile that has a range of 450 kilometers, the Pakistani military said on Saturday, amid heightened tensions with India.
India-Pakistan tensions have soared after New Delhi blamed an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists on April 22, on Pakistan. Islamabad has denied involvement and called for a credible international probe.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the attack, while Pakistan’s top military brass on Friday vowed to defend the country’s sovereignty after a minister said an Indian strike was “imminent.”
“Pakistan today conducted a successful training launch of the Abdali Weapon System — a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 kilometers, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
“The launch was aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters, including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced manoeuvrability features.”
India and Pakistan have exchanged diplomatic barbs, expelled each other’s citizens and shut border since the April 22 attack. India has suspended the 1960 World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty that ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, with Islamabad describing it as an “act of war.”
The two nuclear-armed countries have exchanged gunfire for nine consecutive nights along their de facto border in Kashmir, according to Indian defense officials. There has been no comment by the Pakistani military on the skirmishes.
There have been fears that the latest crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals who have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, could spiral into a military conflict.
Saturday’s missile launch was witnessed by the senior military officials as well as scientists and engineers from Pakistan’s strategic organizations, according to the ISPR.
“The president, prime minister of Pakistan, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and services chiefs extended their congratulations to the participating troops, scientists and engineers,” it said.
“They expressed complete confidence in the operational preparedness and technical proficiency of Pakistan’s strategic forces to ensure credible minimum deterrence and safeguard national security against any aggression.”
Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. The region is divided between the two countries, though both claim it in full.
Since 1989, several Kashmiri groups have carried out attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of supporting these groups — a charge Islamabad denies, insisting it offers only diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris.
The United Nations (UN), United States, China, which shares its border with Indian and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and several other countries have urged restraint and asked both sides to resolve the latest crisis through dialogue.
