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ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has started reviewing Pakistan’s aviation standards, a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) spokesperson said on Monday, with Islamabad eyeing resumption of direct flights to the US after a five-year hiatus.

The Pakistan International Airline (PIA), the national flag carrier, was banned in June 2020 from flying to the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK) and the US, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into a residential neighborhood in Karachi.

The disaster, which killed nearly 100 people, was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control and was followed by allegations that nearly a third of the PIA pilot licenses were fake or dubious.

Earlier this year, the debt-ridden airline resumed flights to Europe and the UK after a four-and-a-half-year ban on the airline was lifted by the European and British regulators. The airline, however, remains barred from flying to the US.

“A five-member FAA delegation, accompanied by two officials from the US Embassy, began its engagement today (Monday) with the PCAA,” Shahid Qadir, a PCAA spokesperson, told Arab News.

“This report by the FAA safety team will pave the way for the resumption of flight operations to the United States.”

The first session in Karachi was presided over by the PCAA Director-General Nadir Shafi Dar, who gave the FAA officials a comprehensive briefing on the organizational structure, mandate and operational functions, according to Qadir.

The FAA team will conduct structured interactions with relevant PCAA departments and officials this week to review the PCAA’s legal, regulatory and operational framework in line with international standards.

“Their assessment will encompass a wide range of activities, including detailed briefings, verification of regulatory and operational documents, and evaluation of existing systems,” the PCAA spokesperson said.

“The team will then finalize its findings and prepare a formal assessment report to be submitted to the competent authorities in due course.”

The PCAA spokesperson said that no system was flawless and that external reviews often brought observations for improvement.

“So, when we get a report of this assessment, we will improve those things,” he added.

The official said an FAA security team would make another visit by the end of this year to assess security systems at Pakistani airports, airspace protocols, cargo operations, gateways and ground handling.

“Once both reports are completed and all systems have been checked, then we will be in a position to seek permission and if granted, we will be able to proceed for direct flight operations resumption,” he added.

The resumption of direct flights to the US will improve the credibility of the South Asian country as well as its airlines.

“Around 700,000 Pakistani expatriates living in the United States, along with business and leisure travelers, will benefit as direct flights are expected to significantly reduce travel time,” Qadir said.

Muhammad Umair, a Pakistani aviation expert, described the visit as the first step toward resumption of Pakistani flights to the US that would increase both passenger traffic and cargo volume, but cautioned that the process would be lengthy.

“They [FAA] will review all safety and security protocols, identify any gaps, and ask the Pakistani authorities to address them,” he told Arab News, adding that it may take “many months.”

“The arrival of the team shows that things are moving in a positive direction, and this will be economically very beneficial for Pakistani commercial airlines.”

LONDON: A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy showing a judge beating an unarmed protester with a gavel has appeared outside a London court.
The mural depicts a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard while a judge in a traditional wig and black gown beats him with a gavel. Banksy posted a photo of the work Monday on Instagram, his usual method of claiming a work as authentic. It was captioned “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.”
While the artwork does not refer to a particular cause or incident, activists saw it as a reference to the UK government’s ban on the group Palestine Action. On Saturday almost 900 people were arrested at a London protest challenging the ban.
Defend Our Juries, the group that organized the protest, said in a statement that the mural “powerfully depicts the brutality unleashed” by the government ban. “When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent, it strengthens it,” the statement said.
Security officials outside the courthouse covered the mural Monday with sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers, and it was being guarded by two officers and a CCTV camera.
Banksy began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction and have drawn thieves and vandals.
Banksy’s work often comments on political issues, with many of his pieces criticizing government policy on migration and war.
At the Glastonbury Festival last year, an inflatable raft holding dummies of migrants in life jackets was unveiled during a band’s headline set. Banksy appeared to claim the stunt, which was thought to symbolize small boat crossings of migrants in the Channel, in a post on Instagram.
The artist has also taken his message on migration to Europe.
In 2019, “The Migrant Child,” depicting a shipwrecked child holding a pink smoke bomb and wearing a life jacket, was unveiled in Venice. A year prior, a number of works including one near a former center for migrants that depicted a child spray-painting wallpaper over a swastika were discovered in Paris.
Banksy has also created numerous artworks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the years, including one depicting a girl conducting a body search on an Israeli soldier, another showing a dove wearing a flak jacket, and a masked protester hurling a bouquet of flowers. He also designed the “Walled Off Hotel” guesthouse in Bethlehem, which closed in October 2023.
Last summer, Banksy captured London’s attention with an animal-themed collection, which concluded with a mural of a gorilla appearing to hold up the entrance gate to London Zoo.
For nine days straight Banksy-created creatures — from a mountain goat perched on a building buttress to piranhas circling a police guard post to a rhinoceros mounting a car — showed up in unlikely locations around the city.