Adviser to the Prime Minister on Aviation Division Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi has said there is no official intimation about any recovery of narcotics from the PIA plane in London. Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, he said only media is airing the news that the UK authorities recovered narcotics from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, PK-785, that had left from Islamabad for London on May 15.
He showed concern why UK authorities did not officially convey the incident to Pakistan. He said the PIA authorities tried to get official confirmation from British Border Security and National Crimes Agency authorities, but didn't get anything yet.
Meanwhile, he said that Pakistan High Commissioner in London has been asked to approach the British authorities and get actual and official stance on the incident. However, he confirmed that the PIA plane was thoroughly checked and its crew was held for seven to eight hours, but they (UK authorities) did not convey anything to Pakistan officially. Terming the reported incident 'regrettable,' the adviser said it is a matter of Pakistan's dignity and vowed to take the case to its logical end.
In the past, he admitted that the national flag carrier had been facing such cases but exemplary punishment was not given to the culprits, adding that PIA has been a victim of mismanagement and it needs rigorous reforms. In the meantime, he said all such cases sent to the cold storage will be taken up for their logical conclusion so that the culprits behind any such incident are brought to the book.