MULTAN, Jan 31: PIA has started paying Rs2 million compensation to heirs of each victim of the Multan Fokker crash, an official of the airlines says. During a press conference here on Wednesday, PIA Multan district manager Bashiruddin Khan along with lawyers Mirza Waheed Baig and Mehmood Alam handed over two cheques to Muhammad Abbas, brother of victim Samina Mushtaq, and Atta Muhammad, father of Ishfaq Ahmed.

Heirs of only 18 victims had submitted their claims while families of Suhail Akhtar, Mrs Capt Hasnain and Mirza Arshid Baig had moved the principal seat of the LHC. The Lahore High Court Bar Association, Multan chapter had sought compensation for families of six victims.

The association had filed claims with the court of civil judge Mian Tariq Mehmood on behalf of the families of Muhammad Murtaza, Dr Abdul Rauf, Kanwal Iqbal Hashmi, Dr Humaira Ashraf, Dr Naeem Mughal and Dr Farheen Fatima.

The association had pleaded that all the six victims were experts in their fields and loss of their lives had deprived their parents and children of their love, kindness and support. It was submitted that their deaths were the result of criminal negligence on the part of PIA and Civil Aviation Authority.

Azra Jamal, widow of Dr Naeem Mughal, her children and her mother-in-law had claimed about Rs474.8 million, Afshan Rehman, widow of Ghulam Murtaza, Rs245.2 millions, Ejaz Husain, father of Dr Farheen, Rs271.1 million, Makhdoom Iqbal Hashmi, father of Kanwal Iqbal Hashmi, Rs77.5 million, Nighat Nasreen, widow of Dr Abdul Rauf, Rs146.7 million and Pervaiz Asghar, father of Dr Humaira Ashraf had claimed about Rs168.9 million.

LHCBA Multan president Mehmood Ashraf Khan told this correspondent that families of other victims were also contacting them for claims. He said the association would file claim of Arshid Lateef’s widow within two to three days.

The national carrier’s Fokker F-27 en route to Islamabad via Lahore had crashed after take-off on July 10, killing all 45 people on board.

It must be mentioned here that compensation amounting to Rs500,000 had already been given by the airlines to victims’ heirs.