ISLAMABAD, July 10: Former prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson has expressed grief and anguish over the death of 45 passengers in an air crash near Multan on Monday.

In a condolence message, Ms Bhutto said she was deeply grieved over the tragedy and her thoughts went out to those who lost their lives in the crash and their near and dear ones.

She said experts had pointed out long ago that it was not safe to continue flying the Fokker aircraft in PIA fleet and that the old aircraft should be grounded.

The PPP leader called for a thorough inquiry and fixing responsibility for the tragic accident.

PML-N: PML-N Quaid Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and party president Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif have expressed their heartfelt condolences to the relatives of those PIA passengers who lost their lives in the tragic Fokker crash near Multan.

In a joint statement, they said the news of crash had deeply saddened them and the relatives of those who lost their lives were in their thoughts.

They prayed to Almighty Allah to have mercy on the souls of the deceased.

Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif called for a thorough inquiry into the causes of the disaster. They said that PIA Fokkers were over half a century old and it must be determined why the national flag carrier was still flying them.

They deplored the fact that the current rulers were spending billions of rupees on acquiring new VVIP planes for themselves and were not bothered about the safety of the general public.