From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to furnish a comprehensive report in a case pertaining to the 2016 Havelian plane crash. A division bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, was hearing a petition filed by the parents of a pilot, who was killed in the crash, seeking directives for the authorities concerned to punish those responsible for the tragic incident.
Forty-seven passengers, including TV personality Junaid Jamshed, were killed when the ill-fated plane, PK-661, crashed in Havelian while travelling from Chitral to Islamabad. During the hearing, Justice Mazhar asked, “Did PIA fix the responsibility for the crash after a probe report?” The report would not have come to the fore had this court not passed the order, he remarked.
“The report took four years to reach the court,” the SHC judge observed and expressed resentment over CAA and PIA officials for appearing before the court without reading the report. “42 people died in the crash. What lessons did you learn from the tragedy?” he asked. The officials said PIA and CAA are putting in place more measures to improve operational safety to deter such crashes.
