Daily Times

Sir: I lost my husband in a PIA Fokker crash who was travelling as an international passenger to Istanbul. PIA was obliged to pay compensation at once under carriage by the Air (International Convention) Act, 1966. However, I am suffering because of incompetence or connivance of PIA’s legal team with the insurer’s representative who refused a good-faith settlement of claim. I was thus compelled to knock on the doors of the Sindh High Court. Unfortunately, it proved to be a beginning of a new agony as the case is pending in the court and there is hardly any headway.

Senior PIA officials are aware that there is a specific amount of compensation that must be paid to the victims and in all circumstances. But they continue to defy this right only to see that I and my children get frustrated and accept the paltry amount that suits their motives in violation of the applicable law. I believe there are six to seven other families of victims, including two judges, a DAG and a brigadier, whose cases are pending in civil courts of Multan and Lahore.

The case of my husband is different as he was an international passenger. His case is required to be dealt with under the specific law as indicated.

I request the managing director of PIA to look into this matter and identify the culprits within his organisation who are failing in their duty to abide by the law in pursuit of their own self-serving motives. They are keeping me deprived of what is legally due under Carriage by Air (International Convention) Act