PM aborts Kashmir visit due to bad weather

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made an aborted attempt to reach Azad Kashmir on Tuesday afternoon as his most sophisticated helicopter failed to pass through thick clouds around Bagh and its adjacent valley.
He had planned to visit Sardar Attiq Ahmad Khan, former prime minister of Azad Kashmir, to offer condolences on the death of his father, former president and prime minister of Azad Kashmir Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan who passed away early this month. He also had to visit the Neelum-Jehlum power project and for that he had already taken a briefing from officials concerned here at the PM House before the take-off.
Well-placed sources told The News that Nawaz had planned to leave for Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabd on Tuesday before noon. It was raining in Islamabad and adjoining areas including Azad Kashmir.
The prime minister was informed about the inclement weather on the way but in the early afternoon, the rain stopped and visibility improved. The staff of the prime minister told him that it would be difficult to reach the destination and getting airborne would be a risky affair. The prime minister still opted to travel.
The sources said when the chopper entered the Murree hills the weather started becoming difficult but the pilot tried his level best to move through the thick clouds which had virtually blocked the valley but he couldn’t succeed.
He made a return approach and landed on the helipad of the PM House in about 40 minutes,forty minutes, the sources said. The prime minister was accompanied by federal ministers Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Chaudhary Barjees Tahir, federal secretary Younis Dhaga, Military Secretary Brigadier Akmal Aziz and personal staff of the PM, the sources added.
The sources said that Nawaz had a meeting of senior officials after returning to the PM House where the flood situation and rescue and relief efforts were discussed. The staff of the Prime Minister later informed about postponement of the trip to Sardar Attiq Ahmad Khan with whom he also spoke on phone.