KARACHI: Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that there will be a transparent inquiry of the Karachi plane crash and action will be taken against those responsible. He said that all the facts will be brought before the nation and an effort is being made to complete the investigation report within three months.
In a press conference with Chairman PIA Arshad Malik in Karachi, Ghulam Sarwar Khan expressed grief over the unfortunate incident and wished that may Allah give patience to those affected. He also paid tribute to the Army, Rangers, Civil Administration and residents of the neighborhood for their cooperation.
The Federal Minister for Aviation said that efforts are being made to release the investigation report within three months. He said that experts from the company that built the plane will conduct an independent inquiry and airbus experts will also arrive for an independent investigation.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that this is the second recent tragedy to take place after the Chitral accident. The report of the Chitral accident has still not been completed but he assured that the government will complete the inquiry at the earliest. He also said that those whose property was destroyed in the plane crash will be adequately compensated.
He said that all the facts will be brought before the nation and that on the directive of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the relief amount has been increased from Rs 500,000 to Rs 1 million.
The Federal Minister for Aviation said that if any illegal construction has taken place, those responsible will be brought to justice. He said that there are encroachments on 1500 acres of CAA land in Karachi, such mistakes and shortcomings of the previous governments will be rectified.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that it was a miracle that two passengers survived the accident. He said that the pilot had not announced that he would be attempting an emergency landing and the complete correspondence between the plane and ATC would be revealed through the black box. He said that it was his responsibility to prepare the report, present it in the National Assembly and take necessary action.
On this occasion, Chairman PIA Arshad Malik said that there will be a transparent investigation into the plane crash and as the government has formed an investigation team, they will be obliged to provide whatever documents are requested for the investigation.
He further said that 21 bodies have been handed over to the next of kin and our team has contacted the family members of all victims. After DNA tests, the bodies will be handed over to the family, he added.
Chairman PIA said that the black box of the aircraft has been recovered and everyone, including him, would be held accountable if found responsible. He reiterated complete cooperation in every possible way to expedite the investigation.
Earlier, Ghulam Sarwar said that if there was any shortcoming from his side, he will tender his resignation. Talking to media along with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar said that the pilot tried his best to land the plane on the runway and to keep the loss of human life at a minimum. He said that the Government will bear the cost of repairing the affected houses and the damage to the vehicles will also be compensated. The heirs of the deceased have been given One million rupees and half million each will be paid to the injured
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail expressed his grief over the PIA accident and assured the victims of full cooperation from the federal government. On this occasion, he assured that there would be a clear and transparent investigation into the incident and urged social media users to not spread fabricated news without investigation. He said that the army deployed its rescue teams and also sent its machinery for the rescue operation, and the people themselves participated in the operation, which is commendable.
Imran Ismail said that all of the affected have been shifted to airport hotel and a special team has come to Karachi from Lahore for conducting DNA operation after which the bodies would be handed over to their heirs.-Web Desk
