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Pakistan: Norway, Philippines envoys killed in helicopter crash, army claims no terror attack

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This file photo shows Polish ambassador Andrezej Ananicz (C) with his wife (L) and Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen (R). — Dawn/File

This file photo shows Polish ambassador Andrezej Ananicz (C) with his wife (L) and Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen (R). — Dawn/File

by Mateen Haider & Imtiaz Taj, Dawn

Gilgit: Ambassador of Philippines Domingo D Lucenario Jr, Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors were among seven people killed in a helicopter crash in Naltar Valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region on Friday.

Two pilots and a crew member were among those killed when the Pakistan Army helicopter crash-landed on a school in Naltar Valley, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Asim Bajwa said. Media reports identified the two pilots as Major Altamash and Major Faisal.

Injuries were also reported from the incident in which Dutch ambassador Marcel de Vink and Polish ambassador Andrzej Ananicz were injured.

Bajwa said that six Pakistanis and 11 foreigners were on board the MI-17 helicopter.

The convoy comprised of three MI-17 helicopters, one carrying foreign diplomats, one carrying the prime minister and his staff and a third one with senior military officials, Bajwa said.

AFP quoted a statement by the Prime Minister Office as saying that Premier Nawaz Sharif was on a plane, not helicopter, en route to the Gilgit area at the time of the incident, but turned back to Islamabad after news of the crash broke.

A top regional administration official told AFP that the premier was due to inaugurate a chair-lift project at a ski resort in Naltar Valley.

The crashed helicopter was carrying a delegation of ambassadors to inspect projects on a three-day trip to Gilgit-Baltistan, where the foreign envoys were set to meet with the prime minister.

What caused the crash

Speaking to DawnNews after the incident, DG ISPR said the helicopter crashed due to a technical fault and ruled out the possibility of any terrorist or subversive activity.

He, however, said that as per procedure, a board of inquiry has been constituted to investigate the cause of the crash.

Moreover, the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed that the incident was the result of an attack it carried out however this could not be independently verified.

Transporting bodies, injured

Shortly after the incident, the injured were taken to the emergency ward of the Combined Military Hospital in Gilgit, hospital officials said.

Moreover, arrangements were being made by the Pakistan Air Force to bring the bodies of the ambassadors and the wives of two other envoys to Islamabad.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office in Islamabad has informed the respective governments about the tragic incident.

According to a list of passengers obtained by AFP, the ambassadors of Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Romania, Norway, South Africa, the Philippines and Poland were scheduled to fly on the helicopter.

A passenger in one of the helicopters told AFP that the air convoy was supposed to have included four helicopters but the number was later reduced to three.

“It was a diplomatic trip with members of 37 countries in total,” said the passenger who requested anonymity, adding that the school had caught fire after the crash but no children were in class at the time.

“The school, built by Pakistan Air Force for the children of the area, was closed as part of a security plan for the prime minister’s visit,” he said.

PM declares one day of mourning

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has extended heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of the two ambassadors and the spouses of two other envoys who died in today’s incident and has declared one day mourning in relation to the incident.

He also expressed concern over the conditions of the injured diplomats and prayed for their speedy recovery. He directed concerned authorities to provide the injured diplomats with the best medical treatment.

The premier also directed authorities to dispatch planes and helicopters to evacuate the injured diplomats and transport the bodies to Islamabad.

In gesture of solidarity, Norwegian Muslims form 'Ring of Peace' around Oslo synagogue

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‘There are many more peace mongers than war mongers,’ an organizer said.

Muslims and Jews in Norway formed a 'ring of peace' around Oslo's one functioning synagogue in a show of solidarity. (Photo: EPA)

Muslims and Jews in Norway formed a ‘ring of peace’ around Oslo’s one functioning synagogue in a show of solidarity. (Photo: EPA)

by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

More than 1,000 Muslims in Norway joined together in sub-zero temperatures on Saturday to form a protective circle around Oslo’s sole functioning synagogue as a gesture of solidarity with the city’s Jewish community following last week’s attacks on a synagogue in neighboring Denmark.

Chanting “No to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia,” the group, made up of both Muslim and Jewish participants, stood in what they called a “ring of peace” around the building. The gesture comes shortly after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine headquarters in Paris, which left 17 people dead, as well as the more recent shooting at a free speech event at a Copenhagen synagogue.

“There are many more peace mongers than war mongers,” Zeeshan Abdullah, one of the organizers of the event, said on Saturday. “There’s still hope for humanity, for peace and love, across religious differences and backgrounds.”

Another organizer, Hajrah Arshad, said the gathering also shows that “Islam is about love and unity.”

Ervin Kohn, one of the leaders of the country’s small Jewish community, said the vigil “fills us with hope… particularly as it’s a grassroots movement of young Muslims.” He added, “Working against fear alone is difficult and it is good that we are so many here together.”

Abdullah continued, “We want to demonstrate that Jews and Muslims do not hate each other. We do not want individuals to define what Islam is for the rest of us.”

Egypt, Norway urge donors to meet pledges for Gaza reconstruction

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A Palestinian girl sleeps on a mat at her destroyed home in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on January 30, 2015. AFP/Mohammed Abed

A Palestinian girl sleeps on a mat at her destroyed home in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on January 30, 2015. AFP/Mohammed Abed

Egypt and Norway urged donors on Thursday, including Gulf states squeezed by low oil prices, to keep promises of providing $5.4 billion in aid for the Palestinians after the devastating Israeli assault Gaza last year.

The two nations, who led a donors’ conference in Cairo in October when the cash was pledged, wrote an open letter to donors and said people in Gaza were suffering with an extremely slow pace of reconstruction.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the two felt it had become necessary to remind donors who had promised to help rebuild Gaza that they “should fulfil their obligations in this regard.”

“No one has said to us that they’re not committed to what they have pledged, but also due to oil price and other issues in the Gulf, there has been a bit of a lingering,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende told a news conference.

The two ministers, after a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Oslo, did not single out any nations for criticism nor say how much of the $5.4 billion pledged had reached the Palestinians.

Last year, among countries pledging aid, Qatar offered $1 billion, and Kuwait and United Arab Emirates promised $200 million each. The United States pledged $212 million, France 40 million euros ($45 million) and Germany 50 million euros.

“We know that there are houses now being built and reconstructed but the pace of this is not at a level where we had foreseen and where we had wished it, so this is very important,” Brende said.

The two ministers said they would follow up with personal contacts with other countries in coming weeks.

“It’s not my role here to have a ‘name and shame’ list, but we do have an overview of this and we will specifically follow up on the countries that have not been able to deliver so far,” Brende said.

For 51 days this summer, Israel pounded the Gaza Strip by air, land and sea, killing 2,310 Gazans, 70 percent of them civilians, and injuring 10,626.

The Israeli offensive ended on August 26 with an Egypt-brokered ceasefire deal.

The assault also left the densely populated enclave in ruins, displacing more than a quarter of Gaza’s population of 1.7 million and leaving 100,000 people, mostly children, homeless.

According to UNRWA, over 96,000 Palestine refugee family homes were damaged or destroyed, including 7,000 homes that were completely lost, during the aggression and the total funding required to address that need is $720 million.

Besides homes, the Israeli strikes targeted 13 public hospitals; 17 private hospitals, including al-Wafa Hospital which was completely destroyed; 23 governmental health centers, four of which were completely destroyed; and four private health centers, including the Khalil al-Wazir Clinic which was completely destroyed.

In January, UNRWA said it has been forced to suspend its cash assistance program for repairs to damaged and destroyed houses in Gaza due to lack of funds.

The suspension of the program, which also covers rental subsidies to the homeless in Gaza, will affect the lives of tens of thousands of people who are in dire need for assistance following the Israeli assault on the besieged enclave.

To date, UNRWA has received only $135 million in pledges, leaving a shortfall of $585 million. While some funds remain available to begin the reconstruction of totally destroyed homes, the agency has exhausted all funding to support repairs and rental subsidies, it said.

According to UNRWA’s Director in Gaza, Robert Turner, “none of the $5.4 billion [pledged in Cairo] has reached Gaza. This is distressing and unacceptable.”

(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

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