Gunned down

The death of 176 people on board a Ukrainian jetliner shot down near Tehran was presumably down to human error. Iran says it 'unintentionally' shot down the plane. Unfortunately, this human error has deprived 176 people of their lives. The loss of lives cannot be, mitigated and there may be no relief for the dependents of the deceased. Such incidents have also occurred in the past. On July 17, 2014 Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, when it was blown out of the sky killing 298 people. Similarly, in 1988 a United States navy warship in the Persian Gulf shot down an Iranian passenger plane which the US Navy said it mistook for a jet fighter, killing all 290 people onboard.

Safety of passengers is the prime responsibility of the countries in whose airspace they are flying. The recent mishap will lead to a series of lengthy litigation, punishments, apologies and compensation. Had been there peace in the region, this human error would not have occurred.

Iftikhar Mirza

Islamabad