E-Paper
Owner of crash-hit Pakistan airline released
Pakistan authorities have released the owner of the private airline whose aircraft crashed near Rawalpindi on Friday killing all 127 passengers and crew on board.
Pakistan authorities have released the owner of the private airline whose aircraft crashed near Rawalpindi on Friday killing all 127 passengers and crew on board.
A senior Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official said that Bhoja Air owner Farooq Bhoja, who was earlier taken into custody by the agency for questioning was released today after initial investigation.
Bhoja was taken into custody on April 21 after FIA started its probe into the Bhoja Air plane crash which has raised questions over the fitness certificates and safety check procedures of the Civil Aviation Authorities while inspecting and permitting private airliners to operate within the country.
FIA Sindh director Muazzam Jah Ansari had said that Bhoja was not arrested but just taken into custody for interrogation.
He was taken into custody from his house in the Burns Road area of Karachi.
The FIA also raided his office in the Nursery area and seized official documents for inquiry.
Earlier, interior minister Rehman Malik said that Bhoja's name has been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).
Bhoja airlines operates a small fleet of aircraft on domestic routes and had to close down in 2000 due to financial difficulties before its relaunch in 2011.
