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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.”

QUETTA: Police arrested at least 60 people and deployed tear gas in Pakistan’s poorest province during a strike on Monday, as protesters demanded accountability over a suicide attack claimed by Daesh.

Businesses were shut and demonstrators took to the streets across more than a dozen cities in Balochistan in response to a September 2 bombing at a political rally that killed 15 people.

In provincial capital Quetta, police arrested protesters blocking a road and fired tear gas to disperse them.

“The government has already warned the protesters that although they have their democratic right to protest peaceful, they have no right to force people to be off the roads or disrupt the vehicle traffic and force the people to close their businesses,” senior police superintendent Muhammad Baloch told AFP.

Balochistan, a turbulent province on the border with Iran and Afghanistan, is regularly the scene of violence, often carried out by militants from the regional branch of the Daesh, Islamic State-Khorasan, as well as by IS-Pakistan or Baloch separatists.

Ahead of the strike, the Balochistan National Party (BNP) urged the public to unify across political, tribal and class lines to demand those behind the attack to be exposed.

“Isn’t the state responsible for this? Wasn’t it the duty of the state to protect these innocent people?” said BNP chief Akhtar Mengal.

The Daesh group claimed responsibility for the bombing in a stadium parking lot in Quetta, where hundreds of BNP supporters had gathered for a rally.

Last year was the deadliest in a decade in Pakistan, with a spike in violence along the western border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s largest and most resource-rich province, sparsely populated Balochistan is also its poorest, and regularly ranks among the lowest on human development indicator scorecards.

Baloch separatists have been fighting a decades-long insurgency against the Pakistan military with the aim of ending discrimination against the Baloch people on their land, which has been met with a severe counter-terrorism crackdown.