Tag: Islamabad airport

  • Imran Riaz not allowed to go abroad despite court orders

    Imran Riaz not allowed to go abroad despite court orders

    YouTuber Imran Riaz was allegedly stopped by immigration authorities at Islamabad International Airport and not allowed to perform Hajj because his name was on Exit Control List (ECL).

    In a video shared on social media, Riaz could be seen talking with an immigration official grabbing a paper and saying, “According to this, my name should be removed from Exit Control List (ECL) and Passport Control List (PCL) and if the Judge has ordered this then this list should have been updated.”

    The officer agreed with him and said, “Either the list should be updated or you require a one-time special permission to fly abroad.”

    On May 29, the YouTuber shared on social media that his name was removed from the no-fly list on the orders of the Islamabad High Court and he would go to perform Hajj.

    On June 3, Riaz wrote on X that despite the court orders his name wasn’t removed from ECL and PCL.

  • PIA by June, then all major airports, privatisation will mark 2024

    PIA by June, then all major airports, privatisation will mark 2024

    Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced on Saturday that the process of privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be completed by June this year. Islamabad airport might also be privatized shortly after.

    “The government has no business being in business,” the minister declared at a Saturday afternoon news briefing, explaining the government’s plan to divest from state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

    “We expect the bids for PIA to come in the next two to three weeks, and by the end of June or early July, we can move it to the investors,” he said. “The Islamabad airport would be the next,” he added, “followed by the airports in Karachi and Lahore.”

    The finance minister didn’t respond on a question when asked if Pakistan is selling its skies to prospective buyers.

    Mr Aurangzeb didn’t give an explanation when a journalist asked if the government will keep some shares in PIA after privatisation or sell all its shares.

    The minister wrapped up his visit to Washington DC on Sunday with 62 meetings in a week. During these meetings, he explained decisions, made pledges, and sought understanding from both multilateral and bilateral donors.

  • CAA gathers global players: Meeting in Dubai to discuss Islamabad airport outsourcing 

    CAA gathers global players: Meeting in Dubai to discuss Islamabad airport outsourcing 

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has convened a significant meeting in Dubai to address matters pertaining to the outsourcing of Islamabad airport. 

    Sources indicate that the CAA administration has scheduled this meeting for September 26 in Dubai, extending invitations to international companies interested in participating in the outsourcing of the airport. 

    This development follows the federal government’s issuance of tenders, soliciting applications for the outsourcing of Islamabad International Airport for a duration of 15 years. 

    According to ARY News, the Civil Aviation Authority has stipulated that interested bidders must submit their applications, along with a Rs5,000 fee, in favour of CAA by November 8. 

    Notably, the government recently made the decision to pursue the outsourcing of Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad International Airports, drawing keen interest from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, China, and Saudi Arabia. 

    In response to this decision, CAA unions launched a protest movement, which has persisted despite attempts at negotiation by Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad. 

    The steadfast stance of CAA employees remains unwavering, with a spokesperson for the CAA Union asserting during a media address that the protest movement will persist until their demands are met. 

  • Civil Aviation Authority returns lost pouch containing $9,500 to passenger

    Civil Aviation Authority returns lost pouch containing $9,500 to passenger

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has successfully recovered a missing pouch containing $9,500, equivalent to Rs2.7 million, belonging to a passenger who arrived in Islamabad from the United States.

    Anwar Aman and his family arrived in Islamabad via flight QR-632, as confirmed by a CAA official. Upon retrieving his bags from the belt in the lounge, he inadvertently left his handbag on the chair.

    At around 2:30 am, Aman left the welcome area with his belongings. However, upon returning to the airport at 3 am, he discovered that his pouch was missing. After an unsuccessful attempt to locate the pouch himself, he reported the matter to the authorities and requested that CCTV footage be checked. Unfortunately, there was no CCTV surveillance in the location where the pouch was lost.

    Subsequently, the Adviser to the Prime Minister, Aun Chaudhry, was contacted, and CAA Vigilance Assistant Rab Nawaz was instructed to investigate the matter through CCTV footage. The CAA team then proceeded to check each passenger with the help of cameras, and a particular family was suspected. As a result, data was collected from the female passenger and her other family members, and the husband of the female passenger in the UK was contacted and informed of the entire incident.

    Eventually, the CAA team was able to recover the pouch containing $9,500 from the woman. The currency, worth Rs2.7 million, was then handed over to its owner, Anwar Aman.

  • Customs seizes 400 kg of pork at Lahore airport

    Customs seizes 400 kg of pork at Lahore airport

    Around 400 kg of pork was seized from a foreign individual by customs officials stationed at the Lahore airport.

    Sources claim that the customs officials were informed that pork will be smuggled from Dubai aboard private aircraft flight ER 724.

    Customs officers intervened and removed 400 kg of pork from the accused’s hands, thwarting the attempt at smuggling.

    The pork was concealed from the scanning device, according to the authorities, by being packed in 12 large cartons with special black plastic sheets.

    The smuggler was apprehended by deputy collector of customs Saira Batool when she arrived at the airport, and it was later discovered that the pork was being distributed to other hotels, according to reports.

    In a related incident, customs agents apprehended a passenger flying from the United States and thwarted an attempt to smuggle goods worth around Rs 8 million through Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.

  • Passenger aircraft narrowly escapes disaster in Pakistan

    Passenger aircraft narrowly escapes disaster in Pakistan

    An aircraft traveling from Islamabad to Saudi Arabia on Monday narrowly escaped a disastrous event.

    During the flight, a technical fault was detected and soon after that, the aircraft landed back safely at the capital’s airport.

    Currently, engineers are carrying out repair work of the aircraft after which the flight will take off again for Saudi Arabia today afternoon, ARY has reported.

    The passengers have been shifted to the lounge and they are being taken care of, according to airport officials.

  • Coronavirus: PM’s assistant reaches airport to screen passengers himself

    Coronavirus: PM’s assistant reaches airport to screen passengers himself

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Zafar Mirza on Monday paid a visit to Benazir International Airport in Islamabad to screen passengers arriving in Pakistan, himself.

    According to reports, the special assistant monitored the screening process of passengers from different countries in the wake of deadly coronavirus. Dr Zafar reportedly said that a strong screening system has been installed at all airports across the country.

    “We are ready to deal with any kind of emergency,” he added.

    Earlier, Dr Zafar Mirza had expressed satisfaction over the protective measures taken by the Chinese government to curb the spread of Wuhan novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

    This came as three flights carrying passengers from China arrived in Islamabad on Monday as government resumed flight operations to the virus-hit country. Meanwhile, the coronavirus death toll in China soared past 360, with deepening global concern about the outbreak and governments closing their borders to people from China.

    The fresh toll came a day after China imposed a lockdown on a major city far from the epicentre and the first fatality outside the country was reported in the Philippines.

    Authorities in Hubei province reported 56 new fatalities, with one reported in the southwestern megalopolis of Chongqing. That took the toll in China to 361, exceeding the 349 mainland fatalities from the 2002-3 SARS outbreak.