It is strange that the criminal conspirators had targeted the Pakistan International Airline twice in less than two weeks planting heroin inside the aircraft not for profit making and smuggling but to give a bad name for the national airline. Earlier this month, the British security officials were informed through e-mail that the PIA flight bound to London is carrying huge quantity of heroin. The British officials raided the plane and recovered 20 kilograms of heroin. An impression was given that the PIA crew members were involved. However, the British authorities allowed the crew members to proceed back to home with honour and dignity. It must be a shock for those who planted heroin onboard the PIA flight to London. Again on Monday, the Anti-Narcotic Force (ANF) and the PIA security officials checked the London bound PIA flight and found 20 kilograms of heroin hidden on the same pattern. Why London flight of PIA was chosen? It is not clear. But some observers believed that London is the capital of world diplomacy and world media and the purpose was to give maximum publicity to the drug haul from the PIA aircraft at London airport. Daughter of the Prime Minister, Ms Maryum Nawaz, was also scheduled to travel on the same flight. Presumably for safety and security reasons, the ANF and PIA security people raided the aircraft and during checking they found the hidden consignment of heroin.

It is unbelievable that the PIA crew can make attempt to smuggle heroin to London the same flight and on the same manner using the maximum security airport of Islamabad. The crime pattern is same and similar tactics were used to hide the smuggled heroin in the flight kitchen of the plane. It is also unbelievable that all this was done for earning windfall profit and getting millions of British pound. Apparently, it is a politically motivated case in which the criminal conspirators wanted to destroy the image of PIA and making it redundant in every respect. It is also a fact that people of modest means are not involved in this criminal conspiracy against the PIA. However, 20 employees and others had been taken into custody for the purpose of investigation. They must be very powerful and greedy people or a section of the establishment involved in destroying the image of PIA the world over by planting heroin on its international flights to London. A section of rulers always hated PIA as a national institution and they wanted to auction it out to their friends for which they made abortive attempts more than once. Last time, it was the massive agitation of the PIA employees, including pilots, who foiled the government attempt to sell out the PIA to their favourites inside or outside the country. The massive agitation and murder of an employee forced the rulers to back out and make PIA a corporation instead of disposing of its valuable assets. The agitating employees also enjoyed the support of the broad masses and the PPP leadership played a crucial role in saving PIA and Pakistan Steel to be sold to the interested Indian businessmen. The civil society also opposed selling the assets of PIA to some favourites considering PIA as a symbol of national integration by connecting all the regions through PIA flights.  It is a deliberate Government policy of the PML-N to allow minimum number of aircraft so that the national airliner should suffer losses. If you give hundred or more aircraft to the PIA then it will also earn 8 billion US dollar a year as profit on the pattern of Turkish Airline. It is also in the interests of Balochistan as it is extending air service to the people from far flung areas while the CAA had discriminated the people of Balochistan by allowing private airlines to wind up aircraft to Balochistan on permanent basis. Since there is no air service in the private sector, the PIA should remain a Government corporation extending air service to the people of Balochistan.