PM Nawaz Sharif orders independent & transparent inquiry into plane crash tragedy

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has directed a detailed, independent and transparent inquiry into the unfortunate plane crash be held by the Safety Investigation Board, saying it should be completed at the earliest. He was presiding over a meeting to inquire about the circumstances around the unfortunate PIA ATR crash on Wednesday. “It is imperative that the truth should be brought out and shared with the people in the shortest possible time,” the prime minister stressed. He also directed that a senior officer from the Air Force should also be co-opted as a member of the inquiry committee. Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif directed the PIA administration to reach out to the affected families and facilitate them in every way to lessen the burden of their grief. The PIA chairman, the Aviation Division secretary, DG Civil Aviation and CEO PIA told the prime minister that the flight crew and pilots, in particular, operating the flight were highly experienced and professional with thousands of hours of flying experience behind them. The deceased captain had more than 10,000 flying hours to his credit. The prime minister was further briefed that the unfortunate aircraft had duly undergone routine and regular maintenance and safety checks, and was declared airworthy in all respects. Its last inspections were carried out in July and November this year. He was also briefed about the recovery operations and told that all the dead bodies had been shifted to Islamabad for DNA analysis. Obtaining the samples from the relatives and identifying all the deceased could take upto a week, the PM was told. The prime minister directed that the process should be completed at the earliest. The meeting was also attended by Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan and other senior government officers. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif called Taimoor Jamshed, son of Junaid Jamshed to condole with him. He prayed for the departed soul. He also called father of DC Chitral Osama Warraich to condole the death of his son, daughter and granddaughter. He prayed for the departed souls.