Skip to main content

In phone call with British counterpart, FM Dar stresses early resumption of PIA flights to UK

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in a phone call with British counterpart David Cameron on Monday, stressed the need for early resumption of national carrier Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) flights to the United Kingdom to “bolster linkages”, according to the Foreign Office (FO).

In July 2020, the UK had joined several countries in suspending PIA’s flight operations due to concerns about the authenticity of pilot licences.

On Saturday, Dar had said that PIA flights to the UK would res­ume “in weeks, not months”, and that he took up the matter of banned flights of the national carrier with British government officials over the weekend in London. Sources had told Dawn that the matter came under discussion during Dar’s meetings as he urged UK officials to review the matter.

Today, a press release from the FO said Dar received a call from British Foreign Secretary David Cameron during which the foreign minister made his request regarding the resumption of flights, saying that it would further bolster linkages, particularly in view of the large Pakistani diaspora in the UK.

FM Dar thanked Lord Cameron for his felicitations on the former assuming office, saying that he looked forward to working closely with the UK leadership to further strengthen bilateral relations.

He also stressed the need to enhance bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, people-to-people contacts and climate matters.

The two ministers also discussed important regional issues, including Afghanistan and the situation in Gaza. Dar also invited Lord Cameron to visit Pakistan on mutually convenient dates.

“Reiterating the importance of [the] Pakistan-UK relationship, the foreign minister said that Pakistan and the UK had longstanding, historic relations with multifaceted cooperation. The foreign minister emphasised the early conclusion of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership agreement to take relations to the next level,” the FO said.

PIA flights to UK may resume in May

In his press conference on Saturday, Dar had said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was keen to resume PIA operations in the UK. During the 16-month Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government, he said, everything was done for the resumption of PIA flights and inspections were completed according to international requirements.

“They wanted us to update the Civilian Aviation Authority (CAA) law, and despite the challenges, we did it. But yesterday I was taken aback when I was told the CAA division still has work to do. Whatever requirements are there, we will fulfil them.”

The CAA expressed hope last week that PIA fli­ghts to the UK would likely resume in May, as inspections have been completed and complaints addressed.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/Sp8fWv9
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Explainer: Iran’s economy faces rocky road amid rising prices, falling currency

Iran’s economy is going through one of its most difficult periods in years, fueled by sanctions, high inflation, and a significant drop in the value of the national currency, the rial. These pressures have had a direct impact on living standards and have also fueled recent protests. The protests began on Dec. 28 in commercial hubs in the capital Tehran, when shopkeepers, merchants, and small business owners staged strikes and demonstrations to protest soaring inflation, the collapsing rial, and deteriorating economic conditions, and have since grown into nationwide anti-government expressions of discontent involving workers, students, and others across multiple cities. The Iranian president said Sunday that his government is determined to address Iran’s economic problems amid the protests. Masoud Pezeshkian said the government admits to “shortcomings and problems” and is working hard to alleviate the people’s concerns, especially on the economy. Currency collapse at the centre of c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mitchell Starc surpasses Wasim Akram as most prolific left-arm pacer in Test history

Australian veteran Mitchell Starc became the most prolific left-arm paceman in Test history on Thursday, surpassing Pakistan great Wasim Akram. The 35-year-old bagged England’s Harry Brook at the Gabba in Brisbane on day one of the day-night second Ashes Test for his 415th wicket since his debut at the same ground 14 years ago. It moved him past Wasim, widely recognised as the greatest left-arm bowler the sport has seen. Wasim played 104 Tests for his 414 wickets with Starc reaching the milestone in his 102nd, helped by a career-best 7-58 in the first innings of the opening Ashes Test at Perth. Starc is now 16th on the all-time wicket-taker list and could move above both India’s Harbhajan Singh (417) and South Africa’s Shaun Pollock (421) in the current pink-ball Test. After that he will have New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee (431) in his sights. from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/xclHiX2
Post a Comment
Read more