Court censures CAA for failure to submit PK-661 crash probe report

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday expressed annoyance over the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s failure to submit a probe into PK-661 plane crash near Havelian in 2016.
A bench of the high court comprising Justice Aamir Farooq was hearing a petition filed by the mother of Mansoor Janjua, co-pilot of the ATR that crashed while returning to Islamabad from Chitral on Dec 7, 2016, seeking a judicial probe into the incident.
The PIA plane was carrying five crew members and 48 passengers, including noted figure Junaid Jamshed, his wife and Deputy Commissioner Chitral Osama Warraich.
The petitioner’s lawyer complained that the PIA flight crashed en route to Islamabad from Chitral on December 7, 2016, but no commission was formed to determine the cause of the incident.
Justice Aamir Farooq questioned if a probe was conducted or what conclusion did investigators reach?
A CAA lawyer informed that the federal government had ordered a probe into the incident. The probe has been completed but its report awaits signature of the relevant authority, he added.
“Should I wait until my retirement then you will present the report,” he remarked while expressing displeasure over non-submission of the report. “Unfortunately, no one cares about precious lives in Pakistan.”
He lamented over the inefficiency of the inquiry committee for not reaching a conclusion about the incident that occurred two years ago.
The CAA lawyer requested the judge to grant more time for submitting the above-mentioned report.
Justice Farooq censured the government for not issuing directives for a swift investigation into the incident. “There is a tradition of hiding everything in the country,” he remarked.
The hearing was adjourned till February 7.