Dear countrymen,
We are extremely grateful for the solidarity that many of you have demonstrated and the support you have rendered during the last over a year to the devastated families of the victims of AirBlue Flight ED202 that crashed in the Margalla Hills on 28 July, 2011.
While we continue to mourn the untimely departure of our loved ones, our resolve to campaign for making Pakistani skies safer for future air travellers grows stronger. Together we can struggle as one entity and effectively raise our voices for acceptance of our rights. This is evident from the fact that for the first time in the aviation history of Pakistan, an airline felt obliged to erect a monument near the crash site and hold a memorial service on the occasion of first anniversary of the departed souls.
While addressing the bereaved families on the occasion of first anniversary, AirBlue’s Chief Operating Officer Mr Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made some very tall claims and asserted that he was always available and approachable to them addressing any outstanding issues. The very next day ie, 29 July, 2011, some representatives of AirBlue Crash Affectees Group (ACAG) tried to meet Mr Shahid at his corporate office in Islamabad to present a memorandum, but were utterly disappointed by the response.
We now solicit public’s support for seeking following from the concerned authorities:
a. Making the investigation report public.
b. Ratifying the Montreal Convention – 1999 to which Pakistan is a signatory.
c. Establishing an independent investigation board on the lines of NTSB USA.
d. Compelling the authorities to share the DNA test report.
e. Formation of appropriate SOPs by organisations like NDMA, Civil Defence, Ministry of Interior, Health Department and District Administration etc for efficient handling such disasters.
f. Facilitating the bereaved families towards getting justifiable compensation according to internationally accepted norms.
Besides, we also need your support in persuading AirBlue management in fulfilling its corporate responsibilities with regard to following:
a. Completion and appropriate finishing work at the monument site near Daman-e-Koh on Margalla Hills.
b. Affixing name plates of the victims on the trees planted on the monument site.
c. Sign posting and guidance arrangements for the visitors to the monument site.
d. Appropriate lighting arrangements at the monument and fixing of a “Beacon Light” at the actual crash site to keep the memories alive.
e. Regular upkeep and maintenance of the monument site and displaying the names of all 152 martyrs at the mass grave site at Islamabab’s H-11 graveyard.
We count on your support for our campaign of making Pakistani skies safer.
HARIS LODHI
Islamabad
