MQM-P organised the central demonstration at Civic Centre, which was addressed by party Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and other leaders. Addressing the participants of the demonstration, Dr Siddiqui said that India occupied Jammu & Kashmir by use of force, which was never accepted by freedom-loving people of territory. He noted that India has been exposed after it scrapped the clauses in its constitution, which gave occupied region a special status.
He said that the whole Pakistan backed Kashmiri people against Indian occupation and said that rallies erupting throughout the country show that people of Pakistan fully support their freedom struggle. He also appreciated the Pakistani nation for raising their voices against the religious fascism of Indian government and its atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
He believed that India couldn't hold its occupation of Kashmir and would have to give the right of self determination to people of the occupied area. He appealed to the United Nations to act to lift the three-week long curfew in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) and demanded that Security Council should take steps to stop the atrocities of Indian forces in the occupied territory. "UN should also send its special mission in valley to observe the ground situation," he asserted.
He said that 30 million population of Karachi would march towards LoC if India didn't stop its brutal acts in Occupied Kashmir. He also declared that MQM-P would raise its voices at every forum for the rights of Kashmiri people and would back the political and diplomatic support to them.
PIA pilots resign over 'unprecedented' FDTL planning
MUHAMMAD ALI
KARACHI: Some eight pilots of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have resigned only in current year, due to "unprecedented" flight duty time limitations (FDTL) planning that what they claim carries high element of fatigue. The pilots, who resigned so far include Captain Faisal Younis (after 15 years of service), Captain Bakhtawar Hussain Jaffery (after 19 years of service), Captain Sadia Aziz (after 15 years of service), First Officer (FO) Khurram Baloch (after 9 years of service), FO Alison Oscar (after 7 years of service), FO Humza Zain (after 9 years of service) and FO Zuhair Ilyas (after 4 years of service).
In a letter sent to Director General Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), Rizwan Gondal, president of Pakistan Airline Pilots' Association (PALPA) confirmed that PIA has recently introduced some changes in FDTL planning, causing high element of fatigue, adding that this cost-cutting exercise was actually "compromising" flight safety.
He said that these augmented flights were in "violation" of the bilateral PALPA-PIAC working agreement 2011-2013 and this new flight situation would not allow pilots to avail themselves of the allocated rest time, while rest periods before and after the flights were not defined by the operator and were not reflected on their rosters.
Furthermore, Gondal said the airline scheduling failed to keep in mind the effects of fatigue, compounding adverse effect on crew health and therefore safety of flight. "The same is reflected in a number of captains' de-briefs. Majority of crew are reluctant to accept these flights. However, those on contract are forced to carry out these duties under pressure in fear of losing their contracts," President Palpa said.
"As a result of such policies, the backlog is tremendous. The members are suffering professional anxiety on account of being deprived of their legitimate expectancies. "Pilot productivity is at its lowest. The management is unwilling to reconsider its current modus operandi which is unworkable," he claimed.
Meanwhile, FO Khurram Baloch, who resigned on August 17th in his letter to Director Flight Operations (DFO), said that he started feeling "suffocated" with the current working environment forcing him to work or face dire consequences. Similarly, Captain Adnan Ahmed Malik (an A320 Captain) in his resignation letter to the CEO PIA cited the "dysfunctional" organizational culture at PIA the main reason for his resignation. When contacted PIA spokesman Mashood Tajwa said that airline management was in touch with PALPA and issues would be resolved shortly.