THE ill-fated aircraft of Bhoja Air crashed on April 20 last, killing all the 127 persons on board. There was an outpouring of sympathy for the perished and the affected families. But as the days passed, the tragedy has been overtaken by other events and almost forgotten.

Unfortunately, this has been a hush-hush affair from the beginning. Reticence to tell the truth on the part of the government, the CAA and the airline itself is giving rise to rumours of all sorts. There is a story afloat of attempted sale of Bhoja Air to an unknown entity in the UAE to apparently avoid adverse consequences.

If true, this might complicate payment of compensation to the bereaved families, as only 11 out of 127 have been reportedly paid compensation till now, apparently for an invidious reason to benefit the insurance company.

Results of the aircraft investigation and action, if any, against those responsible for the accident, directly or indirectly, has also not been disclosed, keeping everybody in suspense apparently for ulterior reasons. And last, but not least, why the unprecedented action for initiating criminal proceedings against the management of the airline for murdering the people on board the aircraft was taken again remains a mystery.

Was it for upholding the rule of law or for arm-twisting for political or other less than altruistic reasons, as this has never happened in airline history.

All concerned must realise that it is a human problem of grave proportion and necessary action must be taken to allay these misgivings and to provide some succour and solace to the affected families without further delay.

S.M. ANWAR                           Karachi