PESHAWAR, March 7: MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali on Wednesday criticised PIA for increasing its fare for Chitral.

He termed the increase `unfair and biased’ and demanded of the government and Pakistan International Airlines to revert to the old rates.

He warned that people of the area would launch a protest against PIA if their demand was not accepted.

Speaking at a press conference, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MNA said the PIA decision would affect the people of the district which remained cut off from the rest of the country because of heavy snowfall on the Lowary Top, the only land route to Chitral.

He said that as the Lowary Top remained closed in winter, the government had given a subsidy to the Chitralis on PIA ticket, but the PIA management did not realise problems of the people and raised the fare from Rs1,680 to Rs1980.

Maulana Abdul argued that there was no justification for increasing the fare because the recently-hired ATR-42 plane consumed 5,000 gallons fuel per trip as compared to the grounded Fokker which was consuming 11,000 gallons.

Another lapse on the part of PIA, he said, was that it charged Rs2,370 for a VIP seat but there was no difference between ordinary and VIP seats, except colour.

“I raised the issue in the National Assembly and invited the attention of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz but to no avail,” he deplored.