Pakistan forms body to investigate PIA plane crash that killed 66

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Updated 02 June 2020
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Pakistan forms body to investigate PIA plane crash that killed 66

  • Airbus jet with 99 on board crashes while approaching Karachi airport, 41 bodies brought to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center and 25 to Civil Hospital Karachi
  • Provincial health spokesperson confirms five bodies identified and two survivors, aviation division officials say “premature” to give reasons for crash

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Pakistan’s federal government has constituted a team to investigate Friday’s crash of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, a spokesperson for the Aviation Division said, as the provincial health department confirmed 66 deaths. 
The 16-year-old A320 Airbus was flying from Lahore city to Pakistan’s financial hub of Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, when it crashed in a residential area near the airport.
In a text message sent to Arab News, Meeran Yousuf, the provincial health minister’s spokesperson wrote: “66 deaths confirmed. 2 survivors,” adding that 41 bodies had been taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center and 25 to Civil Hospital Karachi.
Hospital and rescue officials could not confirm if the dead and injured people being brought to hospitals were all passengers or residents of the buildings the plane had crashed into. 
A notification from the Aviation Division seen by Arab News said an investigation team formed by the federal government would furnish a preliminary statement within a month and a full report in the “shortest possible time.”
Ghulam Rasool Khosa, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, told Arab News two people had survived the jet crash but declined further details. Athar Awan, a spokesman for PIA, said it was too early to comment on the number of survivors until rescue operations were over. 
“Those injured on board and due to crash went to different hospitals so it is hard to identify who is a surviving passenger,” Saeed Ghani, a senior minister in the Sindh cabinet, told Arab News. “But two people who we could talk to [and who are alive] have confirmed to us that they were on board.”




Fire brigade staff try to put out fire caused by plane crash in Karachi on May 22, 2020. (AP)

Pakistan resumed domestic flights just this week after shutting them down in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The plane … took off from Lahore airport at 1.00 p.m. and approached Karachi airport at the scheduled time,” Abdul Sattar Khokhar, senior joint secretary at the Aviation Division, told Arab News. “The pilot made a mayday call at 2.39 p.m. and the plane crashed at the same time in a residential area close to the airport.”
Khokhar said it would be “premature” to comment on the reasons that caused the jet to crash but said a committee headed by Air Commodore Usman Ghani had been set up to investigate the matter. 
Pakistan Prime Minister issued a Twitter statement expressing condolences to the families of those who died, saying: “Shocked & saddened by the PIA crash. Am in touch with PIA CEO Arshad Malik, who has left for Karachi & with the rescue & relief teams on ground as this is the priority right now. Immediate inquiry will be instituted.”
Rescue officials said they initially faced difficulty in reaching the crash site because of the area’s narrow streets and the presence of huge crowds of people who had gathered in the neighborhood. But police officers and soldiers from the Pakistan Army’s Quick Reaction Force and the paramilitary Rangers quickly dispersed crowds and cordoned off the area, allowing rescue officials to fight through thick smoke and flames to find survivors amid the wreckage. 
Pakistani news television channels showed damaged buildings and cars at the site of the crash, and charred bodies being pulled out from the mangled fuselage. Firefighters and Edhi Foundation volunteers could be seen hosing down the debris of the plane and surrounding buildings that had caught fire. 
Devastated family members mourned and wailed at the airport and near the crash area, trying to find out if their relatives had survived. 
Witnesses reported the plane plummeting down, and said its rear end hit the ground first.
Muhammad Adil, a resident of Malir area’s Model Colony, said he was offering Friday prayers at a nearby mosque when he heard a huge blast. 
“I ran to the street and saw the plane had crashed after damaging most of the houses,” Adil told Arab News, describing parts of the plane strewn across the neighborhood. “I couldn’t see the injured and the dead as law enforcement agencies pushed us from the area and cordoned it.”
Footage on Pakistan’s Geo News showed rescue officials pulling Zafar Masud, the CEO of the Bank of Punjab, out of the wreckage alive. A spokesperson for Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah confirmed that Masud was recovering at a Karachi hospital.
A top Pakistani model, Zara Abid, was also confirmed to be on the flight. Her last post on the popular photo-sharing site Instagram, from three days ago, showed her inside a small plane, with the caption: “Fly high, it’s good.” Arab News was unable to confirm if she had died in the crash or survived.
Pakistan’s Geo News reported that a part of the plane’s black box, the quick access recorder, had been recovered and handed over to Civil Aviation Authority officials. The recorder provides raw flight data and a record of conversations held in the cockpit.
Friday’s air crash brought back memories of the last major plane crash in Pakistan, in 2016, when a plane carrying 47 people crashed into a mountain in northern Pakistan.




Policemen spray water on the part of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft after it crashed at a residential area in Karachi on May 22, 2020. (AFP)

In 2010, a 10-year-old Airbus A321 operated by the then relatively new Pakistani airline, Airblue, crashed in fog and intense rain in the Himalayan foothills near Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board in the country’s deadliest domestic plane crash.
In July 2006, a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff in the eastern city of Multan, killing all 45 people aboard, including two judges from the Lahore High Court, two brigadier generals of the Pakistani Army and a university vice chancellor.
Right before Friday’s crash, the pilot of the jet sent a Mayday and told controllers the aircraft had lost power from both its engines on its second attempt to land, Reuters reported, quoting monitoring website liveatc.net, a respected source for in-flight recordings. 
After the crash, questions and criticism immediately surfaced about the quality and maintenance of the aging airplanes used by PIA, the country’s main carrier. 
Senior pilot and spokesman of the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association, Tariq Yahya, said he and his colleagues had feared such an accident was on the cards as many PIA planes had outlived their age. 
“In the end it seems there was no power in the plane,” Yahya said. “The plane was gliding along and couldn’t make it to the runway … It crashed very short of the runway, which is so unfortunate.”
To inquire about the plane crash or passenger details, the government has supplied the following phone numbers: 02199242284, 02199043766, 02199043833.

Aamir Saeed contributed reporting from Islamabad


Pakistani PM speaks to Saudi, Qatari envoys as Iran fires missiles at US air base in Qatar

Updated 5 sec ago
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Pakistani PM speaks to Saudi, Qatari envoys as Iran fires missiles at US air base in Qatar

  • Qatar called the attack a ‘flagrant violation’ of its sovereignty and said it reserved the right to respond
  • In phone call with Saudi envoy, PM Shehbaz Sharif urges joint efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed concern over Iran’s missile attack on a United States (US) military base in Qatar and called for efforts to restore peace in the region, Sharif’s office said on Monday, following his telephonic talk with Qatari and Saudi envoys to Islamabad.

Iran launched missile attacks Monday on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq in retaliation for the American bombing of its nuclear sites, state media said, amid escalating tensions in the volatile region.

Qatar said it had “successfully intercepted” missiles targeting the US base, and added it reserved the right to respond in accordance with international law. The US confirmed its air base was targeted by missile attack from Iran and said no casualties were reported.

Shortly after the attack, Sharif spoke with Qatar’s Ambassador to Islamabad Ali Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater and expressed solidarity with the Qatari government and people. He then spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador Nawaf bin Said-Al Malki.

“The Prime Minister urged that all efforts must be made to de-escalate tensions and restore peace in the region,” Sharif’s office said, following his conversation with the Saudi envoy.

“He said Pakistan would continue to work closely with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to intensify peace efforts.”

The Qatari and Saudi envoys thanked the prime minister for expressing solidarity and immediately reaching out to them after the development that could imperil peace and stability in the region, according to Sharif’s office.

Qatar earlier said it condemned the Iranian missile attack, calling it a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.

“We express the State of Qatar’s strong condemnation of the attack on Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and consider it a flagrant violation of the State of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace, as well as of international law,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in a statement.

The Al-Udeid air base is home to the US Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC), which provides command and control of air power across the region as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest expeditionary wing in the world.

Iran’s retaliation came a day after the US launched a surprise attack Sunday morning on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.

Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”


PIA cancels flights to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE after Iran attacks on US bases

Updated 23 June 2025
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PIA cancels flights to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE after Iran attacks on US bases

  • Iran confirmed it had attacked US forces stationed at Qatar’s Al-Udeid air base
  • The retaliation came a day after the US attacked three of Iranian nuclear facilities

KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has canceled its flights to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it said on Monday, shortly after Iran struck United States (US) bases in Qatar with missiles.

Iran confirmed it had attacked American forces stationed at Qatar’s Al-Udeid air base. A caption on the screen called it “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression” as martial music played during announcement on Iranian state television.

Qatar said it “successfully intercepted” missiles targeting the US base, and added it reserved the right to respond directly and in accordance with international law following the strikes. The US confirmed its air base in Qatar was targeted by missile attack from Iran and said no casualties were reported.

PIA said it had limited its flight operations as a precautionary measure due to the ongoing situation in the Gulf region, adding that its reservation department had started transferring the bookings of passengers to other flights.

“PIA flights will be resumed after the situation returns to normal,” the airline said in a statement. “All passengers who were traveling on these flights are requested to get timely information about their flights from the PIA call center.”

A UAE government spokesperson said they were closely monitoring the regional developments and continuously assessing the situation.

Kuwait’s civil aviation body issued a statement, saying: “The country’s airspace has been temporarily closed as a precautionary measure, starting today and until further notice. The decision comes within the framework of maintaining the highest levels of safety and security in light of regional developments.”

The Al-Udeid air base is home to the US Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC), which provides command and control of air power across the region as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest expeditionary wing in the world.

Iran’s retaliation came a day after the US launched a surprise attack Sunday morning on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.

Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”


Pakistan says holds ample petroleum reserves amid fears of Iran’s closure of Strait of Hormuz

Updated 23 June 2025
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Pakistan says holds ample petroleum reserves amid fears of Iran’s closure of Strait of Hormuz

  • Iran’s parliament has approved cutting off the narrow shipping lane through which about 20 percent of global oil and gas passes
  • State Minister Bilal Azhar Kayani says no cause of concern for Pakistanis, government prepared to address any uncertainties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ample petroleum reserves and an uninterrupted supply chain, a junior minister said on Monday, amid fears that Iran may cut off a vital oil and gas shipping lane in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Iran’s parliament has approved cutting off the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane in the Arabian Gulf through which about 20 percent of global oil and gas passes. It’s now up to Iran’s national security council to decide whether to move forward with the idea, which could lead to a spike in the cost of goods and services worldwide.

The price of oil jumped 4 percent shortly after trading began on Sunday night, but it quickly pared back as the focus shifted from what the US military did to how Iran would react. Oil futures were flip-flopping in Monday morning trading between gains and losses. They still remain higher than they were before the fighting began a little more than a week ago.

Pakistan’s State Minister for Finance and Railway Bilal Azhar Kayani denied rumors about a shortage of petroleum products in the South Asian country, stressing that his government was closely monitoring developments following tensions between Iran, Israel and the US to ensure stability.

“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has directed all oil marketing companies to strictly maintain mandatory reserve levels in light of current global conditions, mitigating potential risks,” Kayani was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Press Information Department.

“There is no cause for concern as petroleum product inventories are sufficient and supply operations continue smoothly across the nation.”

The statement came hours after President Donald Trump called for the US and other oil-producing economies to pump more oil as the White House sharpened its warnings to Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Global markets were trying to ascertain what lays ahead after the US struck on Sunday key Iranian nuclear facilities with a barrage of 30,000-pound bunker busting bombs and Tomahawk missiles.

Pakistan lacks adequate resources to run its oil- and gas-powered plants and mainly sources its oil from Arab Gulf nations.

Kayani reassured citizens that the Prime Minister’s office, Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Finance were continuously monitoring the situation.

“We are fully prepared to address any uncertainties,” he said, adding the government was committed to ensuring the country’s energy security.


Pakistan extends airspace closure for Indian aircraft until July 23

Updated 23 June 2025
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Pakistan extends airspace closure for Indian aircraft until July 23

  • The restriction was first imposed in Apr. as part of tit-for-tat measures by India and Pakistan after an attack in disputed Kashmir
  • The attack, which India blamed on Pakistan without offering evidence, led to a four-day military conflict between the two countries in May

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has extended for the second time its airspace ban on Indian aircraft until July 23, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said on Monday, citing continued tensions between the two countries.

The restriction was first imposed on Apr. 24 as part of a series of tit-for-tat measures announced by both India and Pakistan, days after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India blamed Pakistan for the assault that killed 26 tourists, Islamabad denied the allegation and called for a credible international probe into the incident. Both countries later engaged in a four-day military conflict in May.

“The ban on Indian aircraft from entering Pakistani airspace has been extended by one month,” the PAA said in a statement. “Pakistani airspace will remain closed to Indian aircraft until July 23, 2025.”

The ban applies to passenger and military aircraft operated by Indian airlines, according to the PAA. A Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) has also been issued in this regard.

“Any aircraft registered in or leased by India would also be prohibited from using the Pakistani airspace,” the authority added.

Pakistan had previously extended the ban till June 24. It has forced Indian airlines to reroute their flights, resulting in increased fuel consumption, longer travel times and higher operational costs.

Air India, which operates numerous flights to Europe and North America, estimated in May that the airspace ban could lead to approximately $600 million in additional expenses over the course of a year and requested compensation from the Indian government.


Pakistan stocks, rupee plunge as investors react to US strikes on Iran

Updated 23 June 2025
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Pakistan stocks, rupee plunge as investors react to US strikes on Iran

  • Benchmark KSE-10 Index dropped more than 3 percent to the lowest in over six weeks
  • Analysts say if there was no further escalation, value buying is expected to come through

KARACHI: Pakistan’s stocks and currency markets tumbled on Monday as investors reacted to the United States’ (US) foray into the Israel-Iran conflict, traders and analysts said.

The benchmark KSE-100 index dropped more than 3 percent to 116,167 points, the lowest in more than six weeks, while the rupee continued to weaken against the US dollar in the seventh consecutive session on Monday.

The index has plunged by nearly 5 percent since June 13 when Israel first hit Iranian military and nuclear targets in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, killing top generals and scientists among 78 people.

“Rising geopolitical tensions following a US strike on Iran shook investor confidence, causing the KSE-100 Index to drop by 3.2 percent,” Mohammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital Ltd., told Arab News, adding that this was the fourth largest single-day decline in terms of points historically.

The attacks on Iran by the US, which followed Israeli strikes, have intensified the war and deepened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, sending jitters to markets across the globe.

Monday’s 3.2 percent fall was the worst since May 8 when the index had plunged 5.9 percent day-on-day, according to Ghani.

“The spike in global oil prices has further intensified concerns about Pakistan’s external account vulnerabilities,” he added.

Cash-strapped Pakistan, which is trying to revive its debt-ridden economy with the help of International Monetary Fund’s $7 billion program, spent $17 billion on oil imports last year.

Raza Jafri, head of research at Intermarket Securities Ltd., attributed the day’s fall to redemptions at mutual funds and possible margin calls.

“Regional tensions are the main reason behind the weak sentiment,” he said, adding that if there was no further escalation, the value buying was expected to come through.

RUPEE DROP

The ongoing tensions have also impacted the Pakistani currency that lost another 0.06 percent as the greenback closed at Rs283.87, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data.

The rupee is constantly falling and has devalued 0.3 percent since the start of Iran-Israel conflict.

“The rupee is feeling the heat of this war, very negligibly though,” Zafar Paracha, secretary-general of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, told Arab News.

“This stability in the exchange rate reflects the overall macroeconomic stability the country has achieved.”