Dar seeks early resumption of PIA flights to UK

Pakistan's newly-appointed Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke to his British counterpart David Cameron over the phone on Monday. 

During his phone call with Cameron, Dar stressed the need for early resumption of PIA flights to the United Kingdom to “bolster linkages”, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

UK was among many other countries, which banned PIA flights after the fake pilot licences scandal hit Pakistan's aviation industry in 2020. 

Dar said on Saturday that he had taken up the matter with the British government officials in London over the weekend and that PIA flights to the UK would res­ume “in weeks, not months”. The matter came under discussion during Dar’s meetings as he urged UK officials to review the ban on Pakistan's national flag career.

The FO said in a press release on Monday that Dar received a call from British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and he requested resumption of flights during the phone call, saying that it would bolster linkages between the two countries.

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. 

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

The FO said in Monday's statement, “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.”

Dar had said during his Saturday's press conference that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was keen to have PIA operations in the UK resumed as soon as possible. He said that everything was done for the resumption of PIA flights and inspections were completed according to international requirements during Shehbaz Sharif's first tenure as prime minister.