An inconsolable tragedy

That handsome Domingo Lucenario and sage-looking Leif Larsen and charming spouses of ambassadors of Indonesia and Malaysia have died in the lap of Nature's most beautiful art work, the Naltar Valley, is something that is still highly unbelievable. But fate is the hunter. No foreigner in Pakistan would like to miss such once-in-a-lifetime invitation to be in the Naltar Valley that sits between some of the world's tallest mountains. Rightly then the invitation from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to be his guests at the inauguration of a ski chairlift at the ski resort developed by the Pakistan Air Force in that picturesque place was almost irresistible. Some 37 senior diplomats were on way to the ceremony to join the prime minister and some other dignitaries. But that ceremony never took place. One of three MI-17s carrying the guests crashed just about the time it was to land. Of 17 persons on board seven, including pilots Major Altamush and Major Faisal and crew Subedar Zakir, lost their lives. The injured include ambassadors of Indonesia, Poland and Holland, high commissioner of Malaysia and the wife of the Polish ambassador. Not only did the government want to showcase the beauty of the Northern Areas, it was also seeking to send a message to the world outside that thanks to Pakistan armed forces heroic struggle this country is now on way to recovery and revival, leaving behind the dark days of uncertainty generated by rampant incidents of terrorism. It is indeed a grim tragedy that causes immense pain to the people of Pakistan, as it does to people of the victims of this queer turn of fate. A diplomatic disaster no doubt it is, but more than that it is a grim human tragedy. It's an irreparable loss, beyond all limits of consolation. The host nation is in a state of mourning, the National Flag is at half-mast and bodies of the deceased were received at the Nur Khan Airbase, Rawalpindi with full military honours.
The crash of MI-17, one the most reliable helicopters in the world, has led to a full inquiry into the tragedy. However, the first-hand witnesses on the ground suggest that it quickly lost height, hit a school building and as it hit ground it burst into flames. The ISPR chief, Major-General Asim Bajwa, tweeted the copter crashed because of a "technical fault". Not that airplanes and helicopters do not crash; some do as we have had in Pakistan and many other countries. Given the high-value load the ill-fated MI-17 was carrying it must have been in the best possible shape. But this was an admixture of a machine failure and bad luck. It is therefore no surprise that the people in Pakistan and the countries of the ill-fated crash have accepted this disaster as a tragic accident - except for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that is now under hammer. In a statement emailed to the media the TTP claimed it shot down the helicopter with a shoulder-launched missile hoping to target the prime minister. The claim by the banned outfit has been refuted as 'bogus' by the foreign secretary. The United States has stood by the army version that crash happened due to a 'technical fault'. Now that three federal ministers would be accompanying the bodies of the deceased to their countries it stands to reason that with the help of our missions in those places the ministers brief the local media outlets highlighting the importance of the ceremony the diplomats were to attend and as to what caused the accident. And, in return, the people of Pakistan expect that the Naltar apocalypse is comprehended in correct perspective.