March 7, 2003	Friday	Muharram 3, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, March 6: Permission given to Qatar Airways to operate two flights to and from Islamabad has started a controversy as no one in the departments concerned is ready to accept responsibility for the decision, informed sources told Dawn here on Thursday.

Pakistan International Airlines, which has always had reservations on the ‘open-skies’ policy formulated during the Sharif government, is particularly disturbed over the situation and has asked the defence secretary to hold an inquiry into the issue.

It is argued that the decision constitutes a violation of the government move to freeze the level of utilization of Gulf carriers at the summer 2002 schedule, according to which Qatar Airways operates 11 weekly flights to and from the country’s three airports —  Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. Qatar Airways has long been seeking an increase in the number of flights and had filed an application with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It notified its agents that the airline would be introducing two flights per week on the Doha-Islamabad-Doha route from March 30.

On learning of the development, PIA reportedly immediately took up  the matter with the CAA, asking it to honour the government decision of not enhancing the number of flights of Gulf carriers. Through its chief operating officer, PIA separately raised the issue with additional secretary (aviation), who reportedly said the CAA would be asked not to clear the Qatar Airways’ schedule for the Islamabad operations.

Despite the assurance, the CAA later informed PIA that the Qatar  Airways summer 2003 schedule had been cleared.

However, when PIA sought the intervention of the prime minister on the issue, the CAA director-general replied that the two flights for Qatar Airways had been cleared by someone other than the CAA.

Subsequently, the defence ministry asked the CAA director-general to withdraw the permission granted to Qatar Airways.

PIA Chairman Ahmed Saeed in a letter to the defence secretary asked that in future foreign airlines’ schedules might be referred by the CAA to PIA for the airline’s views prior to clearance.

In a separate letter addressed to Dr Hafeez Sheikh, adviser to the prime minister on investment and privatization, PIA has said the national flag carrier may not be able to fulfil its commitments unless issues arising from the ‘open-skies’ policy are resolved.

Qatar Airways representative in Islamabad, Inayat Sheikh, when asked for his comments, said his airline had been permitted operation from Islamabad by the CAA and according to his latest information, the operation would commence on schedule.