Business

Turkish Airlines to expand operations in Pakistan

Businessmen ask airline to start flights to Central Asia via Pakistan

Our Correspondent November 12, 2022

PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

ISLAMABAD:

Turkish Airlines is planning to extend its operations in Pakistan to provide the best services to businessmen and the public at large, announced the airline’s General Manager Islamabad and North Ali Battal.

During his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Battal said that the airline was connecting Pakistan with different countries, which would help deepen bilateral ties between Pakistan and Turkey.

He assured the business community that the Turkish Airlines would facilitate ICCI delegations during their foreign business tours, adding that Turkey and Pakistan were brotherly countries based on common religion and culture. Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said that close cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey was vital for boosting trade between the two sides.

He underlined the importance of direct air links in promoting business and people-to-people connectivity and praised the initiative of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Turkish Airlines to sign a code-sharing agreement on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

“This will enable Pakistani passengers to fly to Europe, the UK and the US from Istanbul, aiding the business community in their efforts to access these markets.”

Turkish Airlines serves 252 international destinations in 122 countries while Pakistan has no direct air linkages with Central Asia.

Bakhtawari proposed that Turkish Airlines should launch flights from Istanbul to the Central Asian states via Pakistan, which would enable Islamabad to improve trade ties with many countries. He asked Turkish Airlines to consider starting direct flights from Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to different countries to facilitate the business community and the general public. “At least one flight in a week will help the business community to explore various potential markets for trade and exports.”

He also expressed the desire that Turkish Airlines should cooperate in improving the performance of PIA.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2022.

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COMMENTS (4)

Uzma Sultan | 1 year ago | Reply No Please don t have direct flights with Turkish Airlines to Islamabad or Karachi. It s great as it is please without the PIA merger making it unaffordable and pricey

Muhammad badr e muneer | 1 year ago | Reply Some demands of baktawari are un understand able and can t be fulfilled by Turkish Airlines

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Samar Ahmed Ali | 1 year ago | Reply Seems another nail in PIA s coffin.

test | 1 year ago | Reply We welcome Turkish airlines to Pakistan and we hope that Pakistan Turkey Saudi Arabia Indonesia Malaysia Qatar Iran UAE will inject new stability into the Muslim world and make it more stronger and united than the European Union through science and technology trade investment innovations inventions and of course to protect OIC from western intervention into the govt affairs of all Islamic countries. After the collapse of Ottoman Empire Muslim countries in the world are misdirected towards capitalism in the name of dollars and tourists. Majority of the Islamic countries run behind these instead of creating their own financial system to trade goods with each and other and to provide shield to each and every Muslim country. If my opinion really matters and someone is listening to me there is no rich and no poor every Muslim is equal before Allah. Islamic countries must produce these things locally which include cars bikes trucks buses railways engines mobiles laptops computers microchips electronics computer hardware nuclear reactors fighter jets satellite systems satellites radar systems 5g 6g naval frigates naval destroyers nuclear submarines aircraft carriers nuclear bomber aircrafts cargo aircrafts passenger aircrafts avionics jet engines surveillance cameras laser guided weapons advanced sniper rifles automatic rocket launchers highly advanced drones highly sophisticated weapons anti aircraft missiles artillery guns fastest tanks attack helicopters passenger helicopters survival helicopters Ct scan machines MRI machines Xray machines sugar checking machines bp checking machines heartbeat machines stunts injections laser treatment machines generators ups resistors capacitors inductors chargers batteries circuit boards lithography machines chemicals rare earth metals our own social media our own state internet state network our own firewall our own operating system our own system kernel our own mobile operating system our own data infrastructure our own cyber defense program our own surveillance program our own human identity program our own database of the DNA of every people finest post mortem laboratories finest forensic labs finest health system finest education system the best society a system where every single Islamic country enjoys the same pleasure development and common prosperity. And if we are all interested then I hope Allah will help in achieving that unity among Muslim brotherly countries. After all unity will never be exploited by anyone but differences can be exploited by everyone.

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