Friday was a tragic day not only for Pakistan but for diplomatic community worldwide as what was supposed to be a memorable inauguration ceremony of a chairlift in the serene Naltar Valley for the Islamabad based diplomatic community turned into a tragedy when one of the army helicopters transporting the foreign envoys crashed into a school building, killing seven on board. Among those who lost their lives were Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen, Ambassador of Philippine Domingo Lucenario Jr, wives of Indonesian and Malaysian envoys Mrs Heri Listyawati Burhan Muhammad and Mrs Datin Habibah Mahmud; and three Pakistanis Major Faisal and Major Altamash who were piloting the chopper and Subaidar Zakir, a member of the crew.
There were a total of 19 people on board the chopper, which included 12 foreigners, two army officers and five members of the crew. The 12 foreigners included the envoys of Netherlands, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Philippines, Sweden, Lebanon, Malaysia, Poland and Indonesia.
After the crash DG ISPR made it clear that the helicopter crashed due to a technical fault and ruled out any possibility of terrorist activity. A day of mourning was announced by the Prime Minister, the PM also extended his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident. President Mamnoon Hussain, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and political leaders also expressed their sorrow at the sad incident. The bodies of crash victims were brought to Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan Airbase on Saturday. General Raheel Sharif, senior civilian, military and air force officials were present on the airbase when the bodies arrived. Army personnel formed a guard of honour to receive the coffins. Funeral prayers of Major Faisal and Major Altamash and crew member Subedar Zakir were also offered in Rawalpindi.