ISLAMABAD, July 28: When the nation was shocked at the worst air disaster in the country’s history on Wednesday some were trying to steal valuables of the victims of the crashed plane.
An official of police said that six persons were intercepted by the police at different tracks of the hilly area while trying to take away mobiles and gold ornaments.
A bearded man was intercepted at the edge of a track near Faisal Mosque when he was spotted with a sack. During search a human hand with gold rings and bangles was recovered from him.
On interrogation the told police that he found the hand from the site of the crash where he was working as volunteer.
He further told police that he brought the human part to hand it over to police or Rescue 1122.
Another man was intercepted at the edge of main entrance of Daman-i-Koh. During body search a mobile phone was recovered from him.
During interrogation he also told police that the mobile was found on the mountain where he reached to help the rescue workers.
Kohsar Police SHO Inspector Munawar Ali Mahar out of the total six persons three were shifted to Kohsar Police Station but they were released on personal assurance.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Plane with 152 on board crashes in Pakistan
Plane crashes near Islamabad
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: 100 bodies have been recovered
- NEW: Envoy says a "black box" recorder has been found
- Plane had flown some 13,500 flights
- Plane was flying in from Karachi to Islamabad
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A Pakistani passenger plane, with 152 people on board, crashed on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad Wednesday morning.
Hours later, rescue crews had recovered more than 100 bodies from the wreckage, said Islamabad Deputy Police Chief Bin Yamin.
There was conflicting information about possible survivors. Qamar Zaman Kaira, Pakistan's information minister, said eight people were pulled out alive, but Yamin, who is at the crash site, said crews have yet to find any survivors.
The Airblue plane was headed to Islamabad from the sea port city of Karachi when it crashed in a hillside while trying to land, said Pervez George, a spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority.
The Airbus was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members, George said.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik, appearing on Pakistani TV, said the plane was at 2,600 feet as it approached Islamabad but went back up to 3,000 feet before eventually crashing.
"It came from the city toward the Margalla Hills. It was raining heavily," said area resident Ahsan Mukhtar who saw the plane go down. "It shattered into pieces as soon as it crashed. A burst of flames came off, but the rain put out the fire."
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The Margalla Hills are a series of small hills north of Islamabad.
Officials do not know if weather played a factor in the crash. Pakistan is in the midst of the annual monsoon season, when rain sweeps across the subcontinent from June until September.
Crews combing through the wreckage of the plane crash site in Pakistan have recovered a so-called "black box," the craft's flight data or voice data recorder -- which are actually painted orange -- that will help authorities determine the cause of the tragedy, said Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Kingdom told CNN Wednesday.
Airblue, a private airline company, offers flights within Pakistan, as well as to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the United Kingdom. It makes a fuel stop in Turkey when it is flying from Manchester, England.
"The aircraft was absolutely airworthy. There was nothing technically wrong," said Taheel Ahmed, a spokesman for the airline. "Right now our efforts are more concentrated toward the rescue."
Airbus issued a statement saying the Airbus A321 was delivered from the production line in 2000, leased to Airblue in 2006, and had accumulated about 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights.
"In line with international convention, Airbus will provide full technical assistance to the authorities of Pakistan, who will be responsible for the investigation into the accident," the company said.
Irshad Kassim, the director of a local bank, flies to Islamabad every week on Airblue and was supposed to have been on the flight -- but changed his mind at the last minute Wednesday morning.
"I know Islamabad has a lot of mountains near the landing area, and there is a lot of lightning in the area," Kassim told CNN. "There was a prediction of heavy rain this morning.
"I was on the flight, booked and confirmed -- and I was going to take the flight. I decided at 6 o' clock to not take the flight because of the weather."
He said he received a call shortly after the plane went down from airline representatives asking if he knew whether a Mr. Kassim was on the flight.
"I told them 'I am so sorry, I did not cancel.' I said, 'Due to the rain, I decided not take this flight,'" Kassim said. "Then I asked 'Why are you asking? Is everything OK?'"
It was then that he found out that the plane had gone down.
"I am still numb. I am very numb. I just feel that it's fate, I guess," he said.
"After I looked at the television, I looked at the picture of my three daughters. That's a natural reaction for a father."
Friday, July 16, 2010
Aamer cleverer than I was at 18 - Wasim Akram
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Aamer's four-wicket haul in the first innings at Lord's has led pace legendWasim Akram to comment that Aamer "is much cleverer than I was at 18". Aamer, a left-arm seamer like Akram has impressed since he burst on the Test scene in 2009 leading to comparisons between the two. Akram's endorsement comes as a confidence booster for the young seamer who is part of Pakistan's talented pace attack for the England tour.
"It was exciting to watch Aamer bowl so well at Lord's," Akram told AFP after Aamer finished with four wickets in the first innings. "He is a special talent and has pace, nip and can swing the ball both ways which is ideal for a paceman, and augurs well for his future."
Aamer's spell, supported by Mohammad Asif, helped Pakistan bowl Australia out for 253. Given the inexperience in their batting line-up, a lot is expected from the Pakistan seam attack, and Akram was pleased with Aamer's development.
"Aamer has got a head start and is a quick learner, so I see no reason why he can't go on to become a leading fast bowler. He is already spearheading the Pakistan pace attack and watching him bowl, everything pitched up, banging in every delivery and testing the best batsmen in the world excited me no end," Akram said.
Akram however had some technical advice for the youngster. "What I noticed at Lord's and in the series in Australia is that he bowls wide of the crease. That may help the ball to come in, but on slower tracks it won't work, so he needs to bowl closer to the stumps," Akram said.
Akram also dismissed concerns that Aamer may struggle with injuries due to wiry build. "Some people say his physique is not that of a fast bowler, but he is only 18. He can strengthen his muscles with time and I am sure he will spend more time in the gym," Akram said.
Many Pakistani TV Channels Face Financial Crisis | audiencescapes
KARACHI, Pakistan -- Brisk expansion in Pakistani satellite television over the past few years is likely to shift to rapid shakeout soon amid widespread financial strains, shrinking news source options for people in the country, industry insiders predict.
"Mushrooming growth of channels, devaluation of the rupee, and rising costs of fuel and equipment have thrown most of the channels into deep financial crisis," said Ilyas Shakir, CEO and founder of Dhoom, a Karachi-based Urdu channel.
A total of 83 licenses for satellite TV channels have been issued, including about 38 for news and current affairs channels (including regional new outlets). Around 65 channels are currently operating, up from only 16 in December 2005. ThePakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) estimates that about US$3 billion was invested in electronic media (TV, radio and interactive media) from 2002 through 2009.
Shaukat Mahmood, general manager in Pakistan of advertising company MediaEdge (a unit of WPP), estimates that only about seven Pakistani satellite TV channels are actually turning a profit. MediaEdge, the largest advertising group in Pakistan, claims to have a 45 percent share of the electronic media,. It also monitors channel rankings, providing the group with insight on stations' financial health.
Total revenue in Pakistani electronic media reached Rs23 billion (US$273 million) in 2009, up from Rs20 billion (US$238 million) in 2008, Mahmood said. But he claimed that that just seven leading channels- Geo, Express, Dunya, Aaj, Samaa, ARY and Hum-command about 55 percent to 60 percent of electronic media revenues. Other channels divvy up the remainder.
He pointed out that the leading TV channels are charging up to Rs 0.30 million (US$3,571) for one minute of advertising during prime time, but the channels at the low end of viewer rankings command only Rs1,500 to Rs2,500 (US$17-35) per prime minute.
Shakir, who is also chief editor of "Qoumi Akhbar" the second largest Urdu-language newspaper in Karachi, explained that electronic media experienced a boom phase from 2003 to 2007, when the economy was doing well and the political situation was relatively stable. But the tide turned in 2008 amid political unrest and economic meltdown.
In the space of a few months in mid-2009, the rupee weakened to Rs85 to the dollar from Rs63 to the dollar, creating a large financial burden for already-challenged TV channels.
For example, a TV channel that was paying US$15,000 (Rs1 million) monthly to satellite operators saw that charge rise to Rs1.26 million in local currency, he explained. The devaluation had a similar effect on fuel and other costs.
Declining News Options
Azhar Abbas, managing director of Geo TV, said that any consolidation in Pakistani TV is likely to hit news channels hard. “News channels are capital intensive and [require] big investment. Quality programs and coverage are essential for their survival,” Abbas asserted.
The big news channels, backed by strong media houses, can survive for a long time, but the medium-scale channels may not be able to sustain themselves in the future, Abbas said. He was reluctant to name channels struggling for survival, saying that it would aggravate their problems. If some channels disappear because of financial constraints, it would not be a problem for the viewers, he argued, as the leading news channels would continue to provide information to the people in the country.
Imtiaz Khan Faran, president of the Karachi Press Club, said TV channels will continue to produce objective news content, shakeout or no. "Electronic media enjoys complete freedom of expression; there is no interference of the government in this sector," he declared. The previous and incumbent governments tried to curb the freedom of TV channels with restrictive codes of conduct, but the media rejected these moves, he said.
Nadeem Malik, an anchor of Aaj TV and a former bureau chief of CNBC in Islamabad, said the government is concerned about graphic coverage during bomb blasts. He said the channels have voluntarily stopped showing dead bodies and other offensive scenes. He said a group of three top TV news executives (Talat Hussain, director of news at Aaj; Azhar Abbas, managing director of Geo; and Fahd Hussain, director of news at Express) is negotiating a new code of conduct with the government aimed at reining in graphic coverage.
However, Malik said the channels would not accept any law or attempt by the government to curb the freedom of the media in Pakistan. In the past, the TV channels have strongly opposed curbs on media freedom and this spirit would be upheld in future, he added.
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