February 27, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 9, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: An aircraft gifted by Qatar would be used by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesman said on Monday.

The Airbus A-310-304, which was part of Qatar’s fleet, was handed over to Pakistan on Sunday.

Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker came to Pakistan especially to hand over the aircraft.

Mr Aziz accepted the gift saying the gesture of the Qatar government was a symbol of close ties and the desire of both the countries to strengthen their relations. The 89-seat aircraft is equipped with facilities like conference room.

The aircraft would most likely carry the PAF livery, PAF spokesman Air Commodore Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan said, adding that the operational details were being worked out.

President Musharraf is already having a Gulfstream for his travel. However, for overseas VVIP tours an Airbus with tail number AP-BEC was mostly spared from Pakistan International Airline’s fleet.

The gift comes at a time when Qatar is pressing for additional flights to several Pakistani destinations, one of its longstanding demands. Qatar Airways, which is aggressively enhancing its international operations, is currently having 13 flights to Pakistan.

The 18-year-old aircraft bearing tail number A7-AAF was first flown on March 20, 1989, and has remained with Somalia and Yemen mostly on lease before it entered the Qatari fleet in 2001.