Judicial inquiry into plane crash demanded

Civil society and political representatives have demanded a judicial inquiry into the crash of PIA plane flying to Islamabad from Chitral on Dec 7, 2016.

They said though no amount of money could compensate for a human life, the government should pay at least Rs10 million to the heirs of each victim. They said the inquiry should find out how the plane crashed when it was being flown by an experienced pilot. They thanked the Supreme Court Bar Association for filing a writ petition in the apex court to remove ATRs from the routes to northern areas.

Advocate Waqas said he had travelled to Chitral from Peshawar on Wednesday on the same plane that crashed while going back to Islamabad. He said during the flight to Chitral, the passengers felt irregular noise from the left engine of the aircraft. He claimed that on many occasions the plane almost lost its balance creating panic among the passengers.

He said the plane’s landing at Chitral airport was also not smooth as it touched down with lots of jerks. Protest held Later in the day, the Chitral Students and Welfare Association organized a protest demonstration at PIA Chowk against the PIA administration.

Addressing the participants, Abdul Wail Khan Advocate, PML-N Chitral president Saeed Ahmed and student leaders said that even though there was a technical fault in the aircraft the PIA management forced the passengers into the flight and murdered them.

They said the plane was faulty but the PIA admin did not ground it. The participants chanted slogans against the PIA chairman and other officers on the occasion. The protesters demanded that new aircraft should be operated on the Chitral route and the PIA should bring down the fares too. The protesters also criticized the local media for its failure in covering the concerns of the affected families of the air crash.–Bashir Husain Azad