Fifth anniversary: relatives of plane crash victims still await justice

Islamabad
It was on July 28 five years back when an Airblue Flight — ED-202 — crashed on the Margalla Hills of Islamabad killing all 146 passengers and six crew members, the worst disaster in Pakistan’s aviation history.
On the occasion of fifth anniversary of the crash, Airblue Crash Affectees Association (ACAA) organised a ceremony to offer collective ‘dua’ for the departed souls at the Mass Grave Site at Islamabad’s H-11 graveyard on Tuesday. A large number of people, including family members as well as members of the ACCA and civil society, attended the ‘dua’, laid floral wreaths at the graves and prayed for the departed souls to rest in eternal peace.
The association members also went to the Islamabad High Court to present a memorandum to its Human Rights Cell requesting for early disposal of their pending cases.
According to ACAA, the bereaved families of the crash victims joined hands to share their common grief and facilitate one another in overcoming the trauma. They formed the Airblue Crash Affectees Association (ACAA), with the objective of not only facilitating one another in overcoming their common grief and guiding one another in securing their legal rights, but also striving to make the Pakistan’s skies safer for future air travellers.
The objectives of Airblue Crash Affectees Association are very much in line with ICAO Circular Number AN-285/166 ‘Guidance on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families’.
The ACAA stated that in the past five years the association has made significant progress towards achieving its objectives. The first and foremost was that despite being a signatory to the Montreal Convention of 1999, the government authorities had not amended the Carriage by Air Act-1967; offering first tier liability of a paltry sum of Rs39,500 only for loss of a human life. Due to ACAA’s efforts, Carriage by Air Act-2012 was promulgated raising the first tier liability amount to Rs5 million. Due to lobbying of ACAA, for the first time in the aviation history of Pakistan, the Crash Investigation Report of Flight ED-202 was made public, which is a requirement under ICAO regulations.
It stated that ACAA continues to expand its scope of activities. It not only got recognition from the international umbrella group of air crash victims’ families — the ‘Air Crash Victims Families Group (ACVFG)’ which enjoys the status of an observer at the ICAO, but the association’s chairman, Junaid Hamid, participated in the 38th General Assembly of ICAO in Montreal, Canada, in September 2013 as part of ACVFG delegation. Recently, the Air Crash Victims’ Families’ Federation International (ACVFFI) was established in Madrid, Spain, with ACAA being one of its three founder members. ACVFFI is being recognised by ICAO and other international organisations as a non-governmental organisation working towards improving international civil aviation regulations with a view to safeguard interests of air crash victims, their families and contributing towards improving flight safety and passenger rights.
ACAA Chairman Junaid Hamid is currently in Spain to sign an agreement in forming of this International Federation of Victim Families.
According to ACAA statement, the cases are still pending in Islamabad High Court. Many affected families are not only facing financial hardships but also mental agony due to delay in resolution of their legal rights.