ISLAMABAD: The fifth anniversary of the Air Blue crash, in which 146 passengers and six crew members were killed, was observed in the capital on Tuesday.

Relatives of deceased held Fateha Khuwani at the H-11 graveyard where as many as 19 people from the crash, who could not be identified through DNA testing, were buried.

After the prayers, 15 relatives of the deceased went to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to inquire about their petition to start hearing and devise a formula for compensation.

Qaiser Zulfiqar, the brother of crash victim Haider Zulfiqar, told Dawn that his brother had gotten engaged on July 25, 2010 in Karachi and was returning to Islamabad on the plane which crashed.

“My brother was one of those 19 persons whose DNA could not be matched and they were buried in the H-11 graveyard by the CDA,” he said.

“We went to the IHC because the airline paid Rs5 million compensation for each passenger, but we have demanded for compensation according to the age of the passenger, which is done all over the world,” he said.

In 2012, 15 relatives filed a petition in the IHC requesting to devise a formula for compensation.

“The last hearing for the case was held on October 3, 2013 and after that no hearing was held. We filed an application in the IHC for hearings to resume,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play