A helicopter carrying several diplomats and their families crashed in Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday, claiming the lives of the Norwegian and Philippine ambassadors, the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, two pilots and a crew member. Since the crash, there has been a lot of debate about whether it was an accident. The Pakistani Taliban released a video the day after the crash, claiming that Taliban militants downed the helicopter by striking its tail rotor with a surface to air missile. The government and the military have strongly asserted that this accident was due to a technical fault in the helicopter and not the result of a terror attack, although the facts of the case are not yet clear. It is not unlikely that the crash was due to a technical failure. This is the fifth crash of a MI-17 helicopter since 2002 and the ongoing military operations in FATA have left the military’s limited fleet of helicopters hard pressed. Helicopters are more prone to accidents than passenger airplanes all over the world and insurance costs are much higher for the helicopter industry for this very reason. South African High Commissioner Mpendulo Jele also maintained that “it was an accident that can happen anywhere in the world”. The recovery of the helicopter’s black box and the ongoing investigation should illuminate the circumstances of the crash in time. Whatever the facts may be, this incident is another blemish on Pakistan’s reputation in the international community. Tourism, which was scant to begin with, almost completely shut down in the northern areas after terrorist organisations developed strongholds in FATA and surrounding areas. It is hoped that once the military operations wind down in that region, terrorism and security threats will have been curbed enough to resume the flow of tourism to the lush valleys and mountains of the north to bolster the economy. Yet there are several hurdles to building a positive image for Pakistan to improve tourism and trade. The government and military response to this tragedy has been appropriate. The injured survivors of the crash were flown to a hospital in a timely fashion and the recovering Malaysian ambassador said that he had been well taken care of. The bodies of the deceased have been brought back to Islamabad and delegations from the countries of the deceased diplomats will be flying in to reclaim them. A guard of honour was presented for the victims and senior politicians have expressed their condolences to the families of the deceased. This show of solidarity towards the victims and their families is to help the aggrieved parties understand that this was an unforeseeable accident and that Pakistan mourns with them. *