EU, US re-open to Pakistani airlines after CAA clears ICAO safety audit

Pakistani airlines are likely to soon start operating flights to the US, UK and Europe after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) cleared a safety audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), it emerged Wednesday.

The ICAO, a United Nations aviation body, had advised Pakistan in September 2020 to carry out prompt corrective action and stop issuing any new pilot licences after it learnt that bogus licenses may have been issued to unscrupulous elements.

The revelation had come following the crash of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft in May last year, which resulted in the deaths of 97 passengers and crew.

Pakistani pilots had faced sanctions after the aviation minister said in the National Assembly that a third of them had dubious or fake licences.

In the wake of the scandal, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had taken serious notice and discontinued TCO (Third Country Operator) Authorisation for Pakistani carriers.

The USA had also downgraded Pakistan to category 2, which means no Pakistan origin aircraft was allowed to enter US territory.

In its January 4 letter to DG CAA Khaqan Murtaza, ICAO’s Deputy Director Denis Guindon wrote that the committee conducted the audit in December 2021 and “determined that the actions taken by Pakistan had successfully resolved SSC (Significant Safety Concern).”

“I wish to refer to the Significant Safety Concern (SSC/PEL-01/09-2020/PAK refers) that was issued to Pakistan on 18 September 2020 as well as the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) audit that was conducted by an ICAO team in Pakistan from 29 November to 10 December 2021."

During the audit, the committee reviewed the corrective actions taken and related evidence presented by Pakistan to address the SSC regarding the licensing system of the State, specifically in relation to the examinations conducted by the CAA and by delegated or designated training organizations prior to the issuance of licences and ratings.

“In accordance with the USOAP SSC process, [...] the ICAO SSC Validation Committee reviewed the actions and relevant evidence validated in Pakistan. The Committee determined that the actions taken by Pakistan had successfully resolved SSC,” the letter stated.

The ICAO official also thanked the aviation authority for assistance during the audit mission and reiterated appreciation for the active commitment of Pakistan towards achieving its safety objectives.

On this achievement, the CAA declared this as a historic milestone for Pakistan and appreciated the efforts of the entire regulatory team behind this success.

After passing the safety audit, the PCAA has started contacting UK CAA and European Commission to convey the resolution of safety concerns by ICAO.

The CAA said that it will be emphasised to permit operations of Pakistani registered airlines to UK and Europe at the earliest possible and hoped that permissions will be issued on a fast track basis.

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Scrutiny Committee report contains proofs of Akbar S Babar's allegations: Khaqan Abbasi

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday said that the proof of Akbar S Babar’s allegations is available in the scrutiny committee’s report whereas Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has only denied the accusations but have not submitted any proof of its stance.

In a press conference the PML-N leader claimed that PTI used all the tactics they could to prolong the case but failed to provide the record of the 300 million in that time.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif said that scrutiny committee’s report is a damning indictment of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

In a post on social-networking website Twitter, the PML-N president has said that truth has a strange way of exposing people. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been running away from foreign funding case for last seven years and now we know why, he added.

Shehbaz Sharif said the facade of "Sadiq aur Ameen" has been shredded into pieces.

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Scrutiny Committee report contains proofs of Akbar S Babar's allegations: Khaqan Abbasi

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday said that the proof of Akbar S Babar’s allegations is available in the scrutiny committee’s report whereas Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has only denied the accusations but have not submitted any proof of its stance.

In a press conference the PML-N leader claimed that PTI used all the tactics they could to prolong the case but failed to provide the record of the 300 million in that time.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif said that scrutiny committee’s report is a damning indictment of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

In a post on social-networking website Twitter, the PML-N president has said that truth has a strange way of exposing people. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been running away from foreign funding case for last seven years and now we know why, he added.

Shehbaz Sharif said the facade of "Sadiq aur Ameen" has been shredded into pieces.

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India is on a path of religious extremism: DG ISPR

Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar addressed an important press conference in Rawalpindi on Wednesday to review the foremost developments in the security domain in the past year.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said that he will be going over issues pertaining to Pakistan's eastern border, western border, landmark achievements of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, and will take questions, if any, at the end.

Besides speaking on the aforementioned areas of concern, the DG ISPR also addressed rumours of a "deal" with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been declared an absconder and is currently residing in London.

"Talk of a deal with Nawaz Sharif is baseless," he said.

"Who is striking a deal with Nawaz Sharif?" he asked the reporters, also demanding they furnish proof if there is any.

"If someone does talk of a deal, then you must ask them who is offering a deal," Maj Gen Iftikhar said.

He also maintained that there is no trouble afoot when it comes to civil-military relations and urged the media to "keep the establishment out of it".

The DG ISPR began his briefing with the eastern border, saying that under the ceasefire agreement reached with India in February last year, the Line of Control (LoC) "remained peaceful throughout the year".

"The biggest dividend is that the people who live around the area, have seen a definite improvement in their daily lives.

"But alongside this, the false accusations and the propaganda by the Indian leadership that has continued points towards a particular political agenda," he said.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said the fundamental purpose of this is to draw away the attention of the international community from the "systematic demographic changes" India is implementing in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

He noted that on the one hand India is on a path of religious extremism, which the whole word is aware of now, and on the other, it has endangered the entire region's security with its "never ending series of defence procurement".

The DG ISPR said that this will not only shift the balance of traditional warfare, but will lead to an arms race in the region, which will have a severe and negative impact on peace.

At the LoC, India's security mechanism, including the anti-infiltration grid, and with it the false propaganda of infiltration is laughable and raises questions regarding their own security mechanism, he said.

"Recently, the Indian army staged a fake encounter in Kirin sector which is front of Neelum Valley, and in the name of countering infiltration, martyred an innocent Kashmiri, and then blamed Pakistan for it," he said.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said that the photos circulated by Indian media of the alleged terrorist named Shabbir, is not only alive but is present at home in the Azad Kashmir area of Sharda.

Noting that India has martyred several Kashmiris before this around the LoC area, he said that the truth is that it has already tried to externalise Kashmir's indigenous freedom struggle.

But now, voices have begun to reverberate throughout India, occupied Kashmir and the entire world that Indian armed forces are targeting innocent Kashmiris in the name of counter terrorism and are trying to illegally crush their completely legitimate and indigenous freedom struggle, Maj Gen Iftikhar said.

He said in Kashmir the worst siege in human history has been going on since August 2019.

Speaking of The Russell Tribunal on Kashmir, which was held in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina, between December 17-19, 2021, he said that it's findings are "eye-opening".

He said that 15 international judges and experts took part in the tribunal, which focused on four areas, namely genocide, decolonisation, secular colonialism and war crimes against Kashmiris.

He went on to say that the participants made special mention of reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch which recorded instances of human rights violations by India and how Indian armed forces have been waging a military, political, economic, social, and cultural war against Kashmiris, and how they are violating the Geneva Convention and other international laws.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said today, January 5, marks an important day, as it was on this day in 1949 that the people of Kashmir were promised the right to self-determination by the United Nations.

"That promise remains unfulfilled," he said, adding: "We salute the everlasting struggle, and their unparalleled sacrifices and courage of the Kashmiri people."

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India is on a path of religious extremism: DG ISPR

Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar addressed an important press conference in Rawalpindi on Wednesday to review the foremost developments in the security domain in the past year.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said that he will be going over issues pertaining to Pakistan's eastern border, western border, landmark achievements of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, and will take questions, if any, at the end.

Besides speaking on the aforementioned areas of concern, the DG ISPR also addressed rumours of a "deal" with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been declared an absconder and is currently residing in London.

"Talk of a deal with Nawaz Sharif is baseless," he said.

"Who is striking a deal with Nawaz Sharif?" he asked the reporters, also demanding they furnish proof if there is any.

"If someone does talk of a deal, then you must ask them who is offering a deal," Maj Gen Iftikhar said.

He also maintained that there is no trouble afoot when it comes to civil-military relations and urged the media to "keep the establishment out of it".

The DG ISPR began his briefing with the eastern border, saying that under the ceasefire agreement reached with India in February last year, the Line of Control (LoC) "remained peaceful throughout the year".

"The biggest dividend is that the people who live around the area, have seen a definite improvement in their daily lives.

"But alongside this, the false accusations and the propaganda by the Indian leadership that has continued points towards a particular political agenda," he said.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said the fundamental purpose of this is to draw away the attention of the international community from the "systematic demographic changes" India is implementing in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

He noted that on the one hand India is on a path of religious extremism, which the whole word is aware of now, and on the other, it has endangered the entire region's security with its "never ending series of defence procurement".

The DG ISPR said that this will not only shift the balance of traditional warfare, but will lead to an arms race in the region, which will have a severe and negative impact on peace.

At the LoC, India's security mechanism, including the anti-infiltration grid, and with it the false propaganda of infiltration is laughable and raises questions regarding their own security mechanism, he said.

"Recently, the Indian army staged a fake encounter in Kirin sector which is front of Neelum Valley, and in the name of countering infiltration, martyred an innocent Kashmiri, and then blamed Pakistan for it," he said.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said that the photos circulated by Indian media of the alleged terrorist named Shabbir, is not only alive but is present at home in the Azad Kashmir area of Sharda.

Noting that India has martyred several Kashmiris before this around the LoC area, he said that the truth is that it has already tried to externalise Kashmir's indigenous freedom struggle.

But now, voices have begun to reverberate throughout India, occupied Kashmir and the entire world that Indian armed forces are targeting innocent Kashmiris in the name of counter terrorism and are trying to illegally crush their completely legitimate and indigenous freedom struggle, Maj Gen Iftikhar said.

He said in Kashmir the worst siege in human history has been going on since August 2019.

Speaking of The Russell Tribunal on Kashmir, which was held in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina, between December 17-19, 2021, he said that it's findings are "eye-opening".

He said that 15 international judges and experts took part in the tribunal, which focused on four areas, namely genocide, decolonisation, secular colonialism and war crimes against Kashmiris.

He went on to say that the participants made special mention of reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch which recorded instances of human rights violations by India and how Indian armed forces have been waging a military, political, economic, social, and cultural war against Kashmiris, and how they are violating the Geneva Convention and other international laws.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said today, January 5, marks an important day, as it was on this day in 1949 that the people of Kashmir were promised the right to self-determination by the United Nations.

"That promise remains unfulfilled," he said, adding: "We salute the everlasting struggle, and their unparalleled sacrifices and courage of the Kashmiri people."

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LIVE: DG ISPR addresses press conference

Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar on Wednesday is addressing a press conference in Islamabad. He welcomed the participants in the year 2022’s first presser.

 

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PM Imran Khan inaugurates Hakla-D.I. Khan Motorway

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday inaugurated the Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway at a ceremony in Islamabad.

The 293 kilometres long Hakla-D.I. Khan Motorway, a key part of the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), "will benefit the less developed areas of the country", PM Imran Khan said while addressing the inauguration ceremony.

The premier commended the Ministry of Communications on the occasion, saying it has shown "tremendous performance" under Murad Saeed.

He said that, previously, the development of the country was confined only to GT Road, Lahore and onwards to Karachi, which was also called the eastern route of CPEC.
But a country achieves progress if there is uniform development across its length and breadth. It is made possible due to long-term planning like that done by China, which has planned 30 years ahead,” he added.

PM Imran Khan said future planning would envisage a roadmap for progress that embraces all parts of the country.

"If only a few areas are developed, the people living there will become rich and leave behind the population of backward areas in poverty. This is the biggest problem of the developing world," he said.

The prime minister said the Hakla-D.I. Khan Motorway would connect areas which are comparatively less developed.

A lack of facilities had forced the inhabitants of D.I. Khan and Minawali to move to developed cities, which also resulted in brain-drain and flight of talent, he said.

He expressed confidence that the motorway would go a long way towards raising the standards of living of these areas and reduce the travel time between Islamabad and D.I. Khan from seven hours to three.

A statement issued by the official Twitter handle of the Prime Minister's Office had announced the inauguration of the motorway earlier in the day.

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