Daily Times

Better sense seems to have finally prevailed as Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar has announced that all the aircraft of private airlines will be inspected thoroughly one by one. However, the statement came after two more aircraft of another private airline narrowly escaped tragedy on Sunday. The government has set up a judicial commission comprising two judges and a retired Grade 22 officer to hold an inquiry into Friday’s plane crash of Bhoja Air in which 127 people lost their lives. Investigating the factors that led to the tragedy is crucial. The facts have to be discovered for many reasons; first, to offer closure to the aggrieved families of 127 victims; second, to nab those whose neglect might have caused the national loss and third, to prevent the repeat of a similar tragedy in the future. The issue of keeping fleets of faulty aircraft has caused embarrassment to Pakistan all over the world. The latest plane crash is a bitter reminder of the deadly crash of the Air Blue plane, which occurred only two years ago in the same city. However, what is even more agonising is the political rift that has started between the government and the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over the constitution of the judicial commission to probe the affair. The PML-N has opposed the commission on the pretext that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has not been consulted on the commission. The party has also criticised the members of the commission who had been PCO judges. At this hour of grief and sadness, the PML-N is expected to behave maturely. It is certainly a bad time to manipulate this issue for political point scoring. According to the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 1956, the federal government can set up an inquiry commission to probe any matter of serious concern independently. There is no such clause in the Act that binds it to consult the Chief Justice of Pakistan in this regard. The second objection of the PML-N is the appointment of two PCO judges as part of the three-member commission. These two retired judges have already been punished for what they did in the past. Objecting to their fresh appointment seems churlish and unfair now. If the government has inducted them for their expertise, the matter should not be politicised, rather it is time to support such initiatives, which have at last been undertaken after already wasting precious time.

The decision of full physical and technical examination of the airworthiness of private fleets should be extended to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as well since matters related to the management of the national airline appear just as murky. The Civil Aviation Authority must ensure that all the private airlines conform to international standards and procedures drafted for passenger safety in all operations. Bhoja Air had been resurrected in January. Though the cause of Friday’s crash has not been ascertained yet, however, the possibility of a technical fault in the doomed aircraft cannot be ruled out. The recently exposed faulty aircraft of Shaheen Airlines underscores the laxity of both the airline authorities and the Civil Aviation Authority. There is a need to ensure safety of civil aviation, be it private airlines or the national flag carrier. *