Threat of isolation: Army to secure 4 major airports

PM’s adviser says Rangers, ASF will also be part of security cordon at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar airports.

ISLAMABAD:

Amid fears of international isolation, the federal government has tasked the army with ensuring security at the country’s four main international airports, a top aviation official said on Saturday.

The prime minister’s special assistant on aviation Shujaat Azeem told journalists that the Pakistan Army and paramilitary Rangers will be providing security at the runways and other main installations of the airports at Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Lahore. Located inside or close to densely populated areas, these airports have been classified as vulnerable to security threats.

On June 8, militants launched a brazen attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, leaving at least 29 dead. Two weeks later, a PIA passenger plane was attacked while landing at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport, prompting some major international airlines to suspend their operations in the city.



“The Pakistan Army will secure the funnel area and important installations at these four airports,” Azeem said. He added that Pakistan Rangers and the Airport Security Force (ASF) will also be part of the security cordon under the comprehensive plan prepared in consultation with corps commanders.

Under normal circumstances, the ASF looks after the security of the airports. However, in the wake of the recent attacks and the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan Agency, airport security is being enhanced across the country. Security agencies have already warned that the country’s major airports can come under attack from militants.

Analysts fear that Pakistan can face international isolation in case it failed to stop brazen attacks at its airports.

Azeem also told reporters that he had talked to the chief executives of Emirates, Saudi and Qatar airlines and urged them to resume service in Peshawar. “We have requested them to resume their service in day time,” he said.

New aircraft inducted in PIA fleet

An Airbus A320 narrow-body aircraft has been inducted in the PIA fleet, Azeem said. “Two more similar planes will be inducted in two to three months.”

According to Azeem, PIA is replacing older aircraft in its fleet by newer ones, obtained on a dry lease. The airline also plans to induct a few more ATR aircraft for domestic routes, he added. Azeem told reporters that one of the major reasons behind PIA’s losses was the use of wrong aircraft on short routes and an aging fleet that consumed a lot of fuel. He said that before he took charge last year, PIA was using Boeing 777s – which are long-ranged wide body aircraft – on domestic routes.

PIA now plans to use smaller, narrow-body planes on domestic and medium-range international routes, Azeem said. Boeing 777s, he added, would be used for intercontinental routes.


Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2014.