‘She’d call to say, I love you’: Husband grieves Pakistani woman killed in DC air crash

‘She’d call to say, I love you’: Husband grieves Pakistani woman killed in DC air crash
An undated photo of Hamaad Raza and Asra Hussain (right) who lost her life in the crash of American Eagle flight 5342 in Washington DC, United States, on January 30, 2025. (Photo Courtesy: Social Media/Hamaad Raza)
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Updated 31 January 2025
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‘She’d call to say, I love you’: Husband grieves Pakistani woman killed in DC air crash

‘She’d call to say, I love you’: Husband grieves Pakistani woman killed in DC air crash
  • Asra Hussain Raza sent a text to her husband from the doomed flight, saying she would land in about 20 minutes
  • World champion figure skaters, pilot planning his wedding, teenage skaters seen as “future of the sport” among 67 victims

World champion figure skaters, a pilot planning his wedding, teenage skaters seen as the “future of the sport” and a Pakistani consultant with dreams of improving public health were among the 67 victims of the deadly midair collision between a commercial jet and a US Army helicopter near Washington.

All 64 people aboard the American Eagle flight that took off from Wichita, Kansas, including 60 passengers and four crew members, and all three soldiers aboard the helicopter were killed when the two aircraft slammed into each other on Wednesday night, causing a fiery explosion.

Here is what we know about some of the victims:

ASRA HUSSAIN RAZA

Raza, 26, sent a text to her husband, Hamaad, from the doomed flight as they approached Washington, saying she would land in about 20 minutes.

Hamaad Raza, 25, who was waiting at the airport for her arrival, never received another message, his father, Hashim Raza, told Reuters.

“Asra was everything to us,” Hashim Raza, holding back tears with a quavering voice, said in a telephone interview as he traveled from Missouri to Washington to meet his son. “And now my son is a widower at 25. What do I say to him? They planned to have children, they were so much looking forward to that.”

The couple met at Indiana University Bloomington, where she studied corporate finance and was a straight-A student.

Hashim Raza said when his son first met Asra, he declared, “I’m going to marry her.”

Asra Hussain Raza later earned her master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and got a job with a consulting group in Washington, with the ultimate goal of working for the government to improve public health, her father-in-law said.

“All she wanted to do was help people, and DC, she thought, was the place to achieve her goals,” Raza said. “And she was such a great cook — Indian, Italian, Chinese food. I told her to open a restaurant.”

She traveled to Wichita about once or twice a month to help turn around a hospital, he said.

“She was an extremely caring person,” he said. “She’d call just to say, ‘I love you.’”

SPENCER LANE AND JINNA HAN

In 2022, Spencer watched Nathan Chen, the superstar American figure skater, win a gold medal at the Olympics and decided he wanted to take up skating too, his father, Douglas Lane, told WPRI in Rhode Island.

Three years later, the 16-year-old had proven to be a prodigy, qualifying for an elite national training camp in Wichita reserved for young athletes that his skating club’s executive director, Doug Zeghibe, described as “the future of the sport.”

“He just loved it,” Spencer’s father said. “There wasn’t anyone pushing him. He was just somebody who loved it and had natural talent but also just worked every day.”

“He was all-in on figure skating,” Douglas Lane said.

Shortly before taking off, Spencer posted a photo of the wing of the plane on Instagram, according to media reports. In another post, he said qualifying for the camp had been a longtime goal and that the training was an “amazing experience.”

Jinna, 13, had also qualified for the camp, which followed last week’s US national figure skating championship in Kansas.

Both Spencer and Jinna trained almost every day at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, according to Zeghibe, the club’s director. The Lane family lived in Rhode Island, and the Han family lived in the Boston area.

Jinna was a “wonderful kid,” Zeghibe said.

“Wonderful parents, great athlete, great competitor, loved by all,” he told reporters.

Spencer’s mother, Christine, and Jinna’s mother, Jin, were also on the plane. Both were “role model parents” who made a lot of sacrifices to help their children excel in the sport, Zeghibe said.

THE LIVINGSTON FAMILY

Everly and Alydia Livingston — aged 14 and 11, respectively, and known on social media as the “Ice Skating Sisters” — were among those killed in the crash, according to the Kansas City Star newspaper. Their parents, Peter and Donna, were also on the plane.

Alydia was the youngest of the several skaters on the flight and “was known for her vivacious personality and strong desire to improve on the ice” according to a tribute posted on the Facebook page of The Skating Lesson, a forum aimed at educating athletes and fans about the skating community.

Everly “was shy and reserved compared to her sister, yet came alive on the ice — becoming a sectional champion at the intermediate and juvenile levels,” according to The Skating Lesson post.

The family lived in Ashburn, Virginia, and was among the many skaters on the plane attending the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita last week.

YEVGENIA SHISHKOVA AND VADIM NAUMOV

Russian-born Shishkova and Naumov, who were married, won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994 and had coached at the Skating Club of Boston since 2017.

“They were talented and beautiful people,” said Ludmila Velikova in St. Petersburg, where she trained both skaters when they were children. “Zhenya (Shishkova) trained with me from the age of 11 and Vladik (Naumov) from age 14. They were like my own children.”

The couple’s son, Maxim, also a skater, finished in fourth place in the men’s free skate at the US national championships last week. He left Wichita after the competition and was not on Wednesday’s plane.

Zeghibe described Vadim Naumov as an “old-school” coach who applied the strict “Russian method” to his students.

“You could not see Genia without breaking into a smile,” he said, using a nickname for Shishkova.

SAM LILLEY, IAN EPSTEIN, JONATHON CAMPOS, DANASIA ELDER

Lilley, 28, was one of two pilots on the plane, serving as the first officer, his father, Timothy Lilley, said in a Facebook post.

“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” wrote Lilley, himself a pilot, who was in New York at the time of the crash. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep.”

Sam Lilley was engaged to be married later this year, his father said. The Lilley family has ties to Savannah, Georgia, reported FOX 5 Atlanta.

“This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life,” Timothy Lilley told the television station.

Flight attendant Epstein was an outgoing person who loved his job, his ex-wife, Debi Epstein, told the Charlotte Observer.

“He made flying fun for the passengers on the plane so they didn’t get scared,” she said. “He was always the jokester and just doing the announcements with the twist.”

Ian Epstein had two daughters, including one who is getting married in eight weeks, Debi Epstein told the newspaper.

Campos was the captain of the plane, and Elder was the second flight attendant, according to media reports.

WENDY SHAFFER

Shaffer, who lived in Charlotte, devoted her life to her family, including her two small children, ages 1 and 3, friends said on Thursday.

Bill Melugin, a Fox News correspondent and a friend of the family, confirmed her death and posted a statement from Shaffer’s husband, Nate, in an X post.

“Wendy was not just beautiful on the outside, but was a truly amazing woman through and through,” Nate Shaffer said. “She was the best wife, mother, and friend that anyone could ever hope for. Her love, kindness, and strength touched everyone she met.”

A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for her family described her as a “radiant soul.”

“Wendy was the heart of her family — a loving partner to her husband and a nurturing, joyful mother to her children,” the fundraiser’s organizers wrote. “Her boys were her greatest pride and joy, and she dreamed of watching them grow into the amazing individuals she knew they would become.”

RYAN O’HARA

Ryan O’Hara was one of three soldiers on board the Black Hawk helicopter, a US official confirmed.

O’Hara attended Parkview High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where he had been a member of the school’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or ROTC, a program that trains high school students for military service.

In a Facebook post that was later removed, the ROTC wrote, “Ryan is fondly remembered as a guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym as well as a vital member of the Rifle Team,” according to local media reports. O’Hara had a wife and 1-year-old son, the post said.

INNA VOLYANSKAYA

Russian-born Volyanskaya, a skating coach in the Washington area, was on board the plane, according to a post on X from US Representative Suhas Subramanyam and a report from the Russian news agency TASS.

Volyanskaya competed as a pairs skater for the Soviet Union in the 1980s. She coached young skaters at the Washington Figure Skating Club, according to the club’s website.

In a statement on Thursday, the club did not confirm whether any member or coach was on the flight but said it was “devastated” by news of the crash.

“More information will be posted when appropriate,” the club said.


Pakistan’s Imran Khan orders party to stay silent on infighting, focus on protests

Pakistan’s Imran Khan orders party to stay silent on infighting, focus on protests
Updated 15 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Imran Khan orders party to stay silent on infighting, focus on protests

Pakistan’s Imran Khan orders party to stay silent on infighting, focus on protests
  • Reports of rifts within Khan’s party grew after a senior leader spoke about lack of clarity over ongoing nationwide protest drive
  • Khan orders party members to avoid sharing grievances publicly, says time for negotiations with government “has passed”

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday urged party members to put aside their grievances amid reports of rifts within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and focus on the ongoing protest movement, reiterating that the time for negotiations with the government “has passed.”

Reports of a rift within the party began to emerge after Ali Amin Gandapur, a close Khan aide and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister, announced on July 13 that a 90-day “do-or-die” protest drive against the government is underway. The protest call, however, appeared to contradict an earlier call for a nationwide protest posted on Khan’s official X account, set to culminate on August 5. The day marks the second anniversary of the former prime minister’s imprisonment on corruption charges.

Speculation of conflicts within the party further grew after senior PTI leader and Punjab Chief Organizer Aliya Hamza Malik publicly voiced concerns on X about a lack of clarity around the campaign. Malik questioned the origin of the 90-day plan and asked for details on the party’s strategy to secure Khan’s release.

According to a statement shared from his official X account, Khan told his family and lawyers at Adiala Jail where he is imprisoned, that he and others from the PTI are currently undergoing “some of the harshest imprisonments.”

“Therefore, I direct every member of the party to put aside all personal grievances,” the statement read. “Publicly airing internal matters or individual concerns before the media is entirely unacceptable.”

Khan instructed his party members, both juniors and seniors, to avoid sharing “internal differences” on social media, electronic media, print media or other platforms, urging them to “focus exclusively” on the protest movement.

“If any party official fails to participate in this movement, I will make the final decision about them myself, even from within jail,” he warned.

The cricketer-turned-politician directed the PTI leadership to decide about nominations for the party’s Senate tickets through “mutual consultation.”

Khan urged his party supporters to continue protesting against the government.

“The time for negotiations has passed,” the statement said. “What remains now is the time for the nation to rise in protest.”

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar last week dismissed the party’s protest call as a “political gimmick.”

“PTI has lost street power and its credibility, and is heading toward irrelevance,” the minister said.

Khan was ousted from the PM’s office in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and jailed in August 2023. Since then, the PTI has repeatedly mobilized street protests, including a large march to Islamabad in November 2024, to demand his release and challenge the legitimacy of the February 2024 general election.

The government accuses the PTI of using the protests to incite instability and disrupt efforts at economic recovery.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said earlier this week that peaceful protest was a democratic right of every individual. However, she accused the PTI of abusing that right in the past.

“PTI has a history of violence and anarchy,” she told reporters. “No political party is allowed to attack with weapons as Pakistan is our red line.”

Hundreds of PTI supporters were arrested after riots allegedly incited by the party against the military on May 9, 2023. The government also says four soldiers were killed in November protests last year. PTI denies the charges.


Pakistan to close national chain of subsidized retail stores amid privatization push

Pakistan to close national chain of subsidized retail stores amid privatization push
Updated 16 July 2025
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Pakistan to close national chain of subsidized retail stores amid privatization push

Pakistan to close national chain of subsidized retail stores amid privatization push
  • Government pushes ahead with shut down of decades-old Utility Stores Corporation by end of July
  • Voluntary Separation Scheme under discussion as committee reviews financial and legal implications

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will shut down the state-owned Utility Stores Corporation (USC) by July 31 as part of a broader government effort to restructure and privatize loss-making public sector entities, according to a statement from the finance ministry carried by state broadcaster Radio Pakistan on Wednesday.

The decision follows years of declining performance, mismanagement allegations, and heavy financial losses at the USC, a nationwide retail chain originally established in 1971 to provide essential commodities at subsidized prices to low-income households. The stores were once a key instrument in the government’s food security and price control policies but have faced mounting criticism over inefficiency, politicized staffing and weak oversight.

A high-level committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to oversee the closure and privatization of the USC met on Wednesday in Islamabad, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chairing the session.

The committee is responsible for ensuring a transparent shutdown process, designing a fair Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) for USC employees and recommending a timeline for privatization or asset disposal.

“All operations of Utility Stores Corporation will be closed by 31st of this month in accordance with the government's directives,” the Radio Pakistan report said.

The committee “discussed at length the formulation of a fair and financially viable Voluntary Separation Scheme for the Utility Stores employees” and examined various aspects including its potential size, fiscal impact, and legal implications.

To support the analysis, a sub-committee led by the secretary of the Establishment Division has been formed and will submit recommendations on the structure and feasibility of the VSS by the end of the week.

The committee also advised that the government’s Privatization Commission be consulted on whether the USC's assets should be sold off or restructured for privatization.

The closure of the USC marks a significant step in Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to reduce the burden of state-owned enterprises on the national budget in line with reforms encouraged by the International Monetary Fund. Over the years, several audits and parliamentary reviews have pointed to chronic inefficiencies at the USC, including procurement irregularities and an inability to meet its mandate effectively in remote and underserved areas.


Pakistan military officer killed in clash with India-linked militants in Balochistan — army

Pakistan military officer killed in clash with India-linked militants in Balochistan — army
Updated 16 July 2025
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Pakistan military officer killed in clash with India-linked militants in Balochistan — army

Pakistan military officer killed in clash with India-linked militants in Balochistan — army
  • Army says three militants killed in intelligence-based operation in Awaran district
  • Accuses India of sponsoring terrorism inside Pakistan, vows to continue operations

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani army officer was killed during a clash with militants in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Tuesday, the military said, saying the assailants were Indian proxies operating inside Pakistan.

The fighting took place in Awaran district during an intelligence-based operation targeting suspected members of “Fitna al Hindustan,” a term the Pakistani military uses for militants it says are backed by India. The region, part of Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, has long experienced separatist and insurgent violence, and Islamabad has frequently alleged Indian involvement in destabilizing activities there, a charge New Delhi has repeatedly denied.

According to the Pakistani military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), troops engaged the suspected militants at their hideout and killed three.

“During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorist location and resultantly, three Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,” ISPR said in a statement.

The military said Major Syed Rabnawaz Tariq, 34, was killed in the firefight while leading the operation. He was a resident of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

“Major Syed Rabnawaz Tariq … a brave officer who was leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly and paid the ultimate sacrifice,” the statement said.

A sanitization operation was underway following the clash to clear the area of any remaining militants, the military said, adding that such actions were part of Pakistan’s broader effort to eliminate what it described as “Indian Sponsored Terrorism” within its borders.

“The security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian Sponsored Terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,” the statement added.

The incident follows a series of recent accusations and military tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, including most recently when they exchanged in a four-day long air war in May. They have in the past fought multiple wars and regularly trade blame over unrest in disputed Kashmir and border regions.


Three killed, 12 injured as gunmen target passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan

Three killed, 12 injured as gunmen target passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan
Updated 16 July 2025
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Three killed, 12 injured as gunmen target passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan

Three killed, 12 injured as gunmen target passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan
  • Armed men shot indiscriminately at bus traveling from Karachi to Quetta at N-25 highway, say police
  • Gunmen last week abducted, killed nine people after stopping two passenger buses in Balochistan

QUETTA: Three people were killed while 12 others were injured in Pakistan’s southwestern Kalat district on Wednesday, police and an official confirmed, after unidentified men opened fire on a passenger bus headed toward Quetta.

Kalat Station House Office (SHO) Habibullah Baloch said unidentified armed men shot indiscriminately at a passenger bus from Karachi headed toward Quetta on Wednesday. The attack took place near Nimragh Cross in Kalat district, located on the N-25 highway connecting Balochistan to the southern port city of Karachi.

“Three passengers, residents of Karachi, were killed in the attack and 12 others were wounded,” Baloch told Arab News, adding that the injured were shifted to the District Hospital Kalat for treatment.

Rescue officials and survivors assist an injured man at Civil Hospital in Quetta on July 16, 2025, after gunmen attacked a Quetta-bound passenger bus near Balochistan’s Kalat district. (AN Photo)

The police official said the attackers did not stop the bus to check the National Identity Cards (NICs) of the passengers before firing at them, adding that the gunmen “sprayed” the vehicle with bullets.

He said dozens of passengers were traveling in the bus, adding that most of them were residents of Karachi.

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind condemned the attack in a statement.

“The security forces have surrounded the area and a hunt for the attackers is underway,” Rind said.

The latest attack has taken place after gunmen abducted and killed nine people last week when they stopped two passenger buses on a highway in Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts. Those buses were traveling from Quetta to the eastern Punjab province.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces, particularly Punjab, the country’s most populous and prosperous province and a major recruitment base for the military.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the strongest of a number of insurgent groups operating in the mineral-rich region bordering Afghanistan and Iran. The group accuses the central government of stealing their resources to fund development in Punjab and other parts of the country. The federal government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan, where China has been building a deep-sea port as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

Pakistan accuses India of backing separatists in Balochistan as well as religiously motivated militant groups, like the Pakistani Taliban, in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. New Delhi denies the allegations.

Balochistan has seen a rise in militant attacks since last year. Last August, nearly two dozen passengers were killed after BLA militants forcibly removed them from Punjab-bound buses in a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan. Another seven Punjabi commuters were offboarded from buses and killed in Balochistan’s Barkhan district in February this year.

In March, BLA separatists hijacked a train that carried hundreds of passengers near Balochistan’s Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed.


Pakistan’s HUBCO seeks extension of $51 million guarantees to safeguard coal plants

Pakistan’s HUBCO seeks extension of $51 million guarantees to safeguard coal plants
Updated 16 July 2025
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Pakistan’s HUBCO seeks extension of $51 million guarantees to safeguard coal plants

Pakistan’s HUBCO seeks extension of $51 million guarantees to safeguard coal plants
  • New transmission charges, which HUBCO says were not originally included, have pushed investors to seek extended guarantees
  • Coal-fired power is crucial amid rising use of solar power, whose variability could potentially cause blackouts if mismanaged

KARACHI: Pakistan’s largest independent power producer Hub Power (HUBCO) said on Wednesday it was seeking an extension to $51 million in bank guarantees to protect its coal-fired power plants, a crucial source of stable power amid Pakistan’s rising use of solar.

The guarantees, previously short-term, would now stay in place until 2034 to cover future loan repayments and potential penalties, the company said in a notice to the country’s stock exchange.

New government-imposed transmission charges, which HUBCO is contesting and says were not included in its original contracts, have pushed investors to seek extended guarantees. The cost of borrowing to provide these guarantees would remain below the expected returns from the projects, it said.

“The extended guarantee will cover any fines or funding gaps that may arise,” HUBCO said in a notice to the country’s stock exchange, adding that the company has invested about $131 million in the projects so far.

The South Asian nation has faced chronic electricity shortages and challenges to grid stability because of rising solar power use, fuel import constraints due to a foreign exchange crisis and a debt-burdened electricity sector.

Stable coal-fired power supply is crucial amid rising use of solar power, whose variability could potentially cause blackouts if mismanaged.

HUBCO will hold an extraordinary general meeting in August to seek shareholder approval for the plan for its two 330 megawatt (MW) plants operating on locally mined coal “to ensure the plants’ continued operation,” it said.

The plants’ problems stem from broader challenges faced by Pakistan’s power sector. Pakistan last year authorized an early termination of a power supply deal running to March 2027 as a part of an IMF mandate to cut energy debt.