ISLAMABAD: On the seventh anniversary of the Air Blue plane crash, in which 146 passengers and six crew members lost their lives, families of some of the victims visited the H-11 graveyard where 72 of the bodies are buried.

The bodies of 19 victims whose bodies could not be identified through DNA tests are also buried in the graveyard.

Qaiser Zulfiqar, the brother of one of the deceased, Haider Zulfiqar, told Dawn that his 29-year-old brother had gone to Karachi to attend his engagement ceremony on July 25, 2010, and was returning to Islamabad in the plane when it crashed into the Margalla Hills on July 28, 2010.

“My brother was one of those 19 victims whose DNA could not match. So every year I along with the relatives of the other victims visit the graveyard to offer a collective fateha,” he said.

“The bodies were buried after they started decomposing in the cold storage due to the shortage of a mortuary. At that time it was promised that soon DNA tests would be carried but the promise could not be materialised even after seven years.”

Mr Zulfiqar said an investigation into the incident was delayed for years. On the other hand, a number of heirs could not get compensation as they believed that the amount was not enough.

“The plane was insured for $750 million but the company decided to pay only Rs5 million to the heirs of each passenger. We tried to convince the company that the amount was not sufficient but in reply we were advised to approach the court. In 2012, we filed a case with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) but after four hearings the case was not taken up again for four years,” he said.

“About six months ago the case was referred to the district court which has so far not taken it up,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Zulfiqar said after the incident the families of the victims had demanded that steps should be taken to ensure such accidents would not take place again but no one bothered to consider it.

“In 2012, over 100 people were killed in the Bhoja Air crash and last year a PIA ATR plane coming from Chitral to Islamabad crashed killing around 50 people.” He said the safety investigation board for planes, which was currently under the aviation wing, should be made independent to avoid such accidents.

Dr Sara Janjua, the sister of PIA’s first officer Ahmed Janjua who lost his life in the ATR crash, and Sardar Kinaf, who lost his whole family in the Bhoja Air crash, also visited the graveyard to express solidarity with the relatives of the deceased.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2017