Compensation doubled for families of PIA plane crash victims: governor

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has said monetary compensation for the heirs of each of the victims on-board the ill-fated PIA flight PK-8303 from Lahore to Karachi that crashed in the Model Colony area of the city last year has been doubled to Rs10 million.

He made this announcement while addressing a press conference at the Governor House on Tuesday along with Chief Executive Officer PIA Arshad Malik. The governor said that the compensation amount had been increased in view of the hardships of the families who had lost their near and dear ones in the air crash tragedy.

He mentioned that Prime Minister Imran Khan had issued directives that the bereaved families should be provided with utmost support. Ismail said the families of 27 passengers had submitted succession certificates and they had been paid the compensation amount.

He said that as an insurance company was involved in paying the compensation to the victims’ families, the submission of succession certificate was necessary for the purpose. He said that a team of lawyers associated with PIA had been constituted so that succession certificates could be prepared for the remaining families.

According to the governor, the baggage that had been damaged due to the air crash would also be compensated, and Rs100,000 would be paid for each passenger. He noted that PIA had borne the expenses of the burial of the victims of the air crash, and compensation had also been paid to people whose houses had been destroyed or damaged in the incident.

He said the government had also paid the expenses borne in treating persons who got injured in the incident. The governor said he would personally meet the affected families so as to know about their problems.

The PIA CEO said on the occasion said payments had been made to compensate for the losses on the ground due to the air tragedy after their due evaluation. He said payments had been due in the case of only four homes whose reconstruction or repair was required.

He claimed that in this connection, certain elements were giving false statements in order to get the compensation amount increased. He said that compensation had been paid to the owners of 13 homes damaged in the incident. Malik said the investigation into the air crash would be completed in a transparent manner under the supervision of the Pakistan government. He said none of the stakeholders should get involved in the probe process till its completion.