I'm Sorry, Prem Chand

Prem Chand.
 (Source: Pakistaniat.com)

I have no doubt that this post will invite even more weirdos to comment and say idiotic stuff, and call me a minority loving fool; so be it. I simply cannot stand by and let my conscience prick me forever by not talking about this injustice, this inhumane treatment that has been meted out to Prem Chand, even in death. Wasn't it enough that he was dead? And let's not forget he was the member of the Pakistan Youth Parliament. Not "Hindu", or "Kaafir", but Pakistan Youth Parliament. So what am I rambling on about? The fact that Prem Chand, who died as a Pakistani in the Airblue plane crash had his coffin marked with the word "Kaafir".

It appears that we have lost all our shame, literally. Or more aptly, in the words of some wise person, we all died morally and ethically in some crash a long time ago. Prem Chand was the son of this soil, Pakistan's soil. So what if he wasn't a Muslim? He was a social worker. He was the person working for a change despite the limitations that he had to face distinctly because he was not a Muslim in this country professing to be the citadel of Islam. Whatever you might say, the word Kaafir has become a slur with its ample usage being found coming from the mouths of Sunnis labeling the Shiites as Kaafirs, and vice versa. I would love to write "Munafiq" on the coffin of the person who wrote Kaafir on the coffin of Prem Chand. 

But I guess that is what the official identity of Prem Chand was in this country. He was born a Kaafir, and not a Pakistani. And so he died a Kaafir, and not a Pakistani.  Imagine if in any country a Muslim coffin had been marked with a derogatory term, we would've been up in arms. 

Is this what Islam teaches us? We, you and me, have turned Islam into a tool. It is no longer a theology; it isn't even an ideology. It is just a tool to be used to generate greedy benefits for ourselves. Imagine the hurt that Prem Chand's family must have felt. Imagine what agony they must have had to go through, knowing that they lost a son, but more importantly, they lost a "Kaafir". Is this what we want to show to the world? We have perfected the art of having double standards. While we want the world to be good to us, we want them to accept the fact that they are lowly, third class misguided fools, who have chosen the path of hell to tread on. We continue to live in a fantasy, and there are many Prem Chands who are suffering because we refuse to acknowledge their plight. This has to end, it must end. 

Let us not forget that except for 3 people, all others aboard the ill fated Airblue flight were Pakistanis. And the 6 youth Parliamentarians were some of the most brightest young Pakistanis. Prem Chand was one of them. It is a shame on our nation to treat our shining stars in such a way. We are afraid of the visceral enigma that has gotten hold of us. We need to stand up and face it; or be lost in this brewing storm forever.

The Margalla Hills Crash

Despite all the tragedies that have befallen our country, we are faced with yet another one. This time it appears to be human or computer error, rather than the acts of extremist individuals. It has been oft repeated by reputed pilots from Pakistan and the world that the approach to the Benazir Bhutto International Airport is one of the toughest to negotiate; yet fearless Pakistani pilots traverse the concourse daily. The plane crash just highlights the perils of trying to land at one of the most difficult airports in extreme weather conditions. Many lives have been lost in this incident, and I can well imagine the ordeal the families of the deceased will be going through. May Allah give them patience and courage to pass through this ordeal.

Even in this time of national mourning, our media cannot refrain from sensationalizing the news and cashing in on the sorrows of those who have lost all. A headline from Geo News TV’s website reads:

12 passengers miss plane despite having tickets

The question is so what? This is a time of grief, and showing support to the bereaved families. Not a time for increasing viewer ratings. Our media needs to grow up, because the general population, like so many other things, is also running out of patience with it.

The crash’s reasons will become clear once the black box is found. AirBlue has confirmed that the plane was an Airbus A – 321 and it was only 8 years old. There were 152 passengers on board including 6 members of the flight crew. There are no survivors. To read the passenger list on the ill-fated flight, please click here.

EDIT:

Many new technical details have sprouted up since the crash of flight ED 202 in the Margalla Hills. Some of these details give the impression of great human error in the crash. However it is imperative that conclusions not be made before the inquiry has been completed. Having said that, no air crash investigation report has ever been made public. In fact, despite a lot of noise when the last air crash happened in Pakistan (PIA plane crash near Multan, 45 dead), the investigation report of that crash hasn't been made public as yet. A lot of speculation is in-progress in the Pakistani media and among the population so let me just state some facts that have come to light recently.

The pilot was ordered to go around when he was on approach to land in at Benazir Bhutto International Airport. He was in-bound on Runway 12 and the ATC redirected him to re-route and land in on ILS runway 30. 

There are two runways at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. One of them is called Runway 12, which is non ILS, and the other is called Runway 30, which has ILS. ILS stands for Instrument Landing System. This system is used to guide aircraft to land on auto-pilot settings, and in extreme weather conditions such as the one prevalent in Islamabad at the time of the crash. 

The pilot's last transmission with the ATC has also been made public. It appears as if the ATC warned the pilot twice against going towards Margalla Hills, and flying too low. (Source: Express Tribune) 

A Chinese aircraft was also given clearance for landing at the same time as the ill-fated Air Blue flight, but the Chinese pilot re-routed. 

The reason why the pilot had to fly towards Margalla Hills was because GHQ and the Dhamial Air base are located on the other side. 

No doubt these points raise a lot of questions. Principal amongst them are a) why isn't Runway 12 ILS enabled and b) should the airspace over the entire Rawalpindi cantonment be restricted? The pilots also need to be trained in Precision Landing Systems i.e. landing manually without the assistance of the auto pilot. It is of course pointless to speculate regarding the exact cause of the crash. These were just some of the technical issues that have come to the fore. (And yes, I do play Microsoft Flight Simulator X.)

EDIT 2:

Some more bad news for the followers of this news. Qamar Zaman Kaira has denied the reports that the black box of flight AQB 202 has been found. This contradicts the earlier reports that were circulating in the news and media that the black box has been found and it is intact. Earlier in the day Lt. Gen. (R) Nadeem Ahmed also spoke to the media and told them that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will not be responsible for the search and analysis of the flight's black box. Will update this post as soon as some new updates are provided.

EDIT 3:

New reports confirm that the pilot was inbound to land on the non ILS Runway 12 when he was ordered to go around and land in on the ILS Runway 30. Also, the flight's number was ED 202, and not AQB 202 as was erroneously reported previously.

May Allah bless the departed souls and provide courage to the those mourning the loss of their loved ones. Amen.

What happened to ED 202?

Only time will tell. Meanwhile, speculations are booming as to what went wrong, why it went wrong, and how it went wrong. Apart from chatter that is dominating the Pakistani airwaves, one thing appears to be certain and confirmed (for now): This was no act of sabotage or terror. Of course there are other aspects of the crash that need to be looked into, and a conclusive outlook can only be made after the inquiry and investigation has been completed.

Flight ED 202. No survivors were found. (Source: Dawn.com)

There is also a lot of confusion circulating in the masses through the media outlets. For example, the flight name was previously provided to be AQB 202, however now it has changed to ED 202. The news also was that the pilot was on approach to land in on the ILS (Instrument Landing System) Runway 30. But new conflicting reports suggest that he was in bound to land in on the non ILS Runway 12, when he was told to go around and change course to land in on the ILS Runway 30. There is also speculation as to whether the aircraft’s Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) was working or not. Of course the pilot was forced to fly parallel to the Margalla Hills while turning because flying over Pindi is forbidden. The most likely cause however appears to be the lack of visibility and lack of coordination between the ATC and the pilot.

This crash has also opened lots of intriguing questions that need to be answered. The safety procedures in the Pakistani aviation industry have time and again been called into question. In fact, it was not so long ago that several of PIA’s aircrafts were banned from flying to the European Union. Before that, despite repeated requests, the PIA did not switch from Fokker aircraft to a more modern variant, and it took the 2006 Multan air crash to force the PIA management to buy second hand ATR planes. This is not the first crash in Pakistani aviation and this most certainly will not be the last. But the safety protocols in place need to be revisited because the risk of loss of human life is too great. It would be prudent to initiate an examination of the current protocols.

Once again, may Allah bless the departed souls and provide courage to all their mourners. Amen.