The Prime Minister of Pakistan ordered an investigation into an advertisement by Pakistan’s national carrier, which was criticized for resembling terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The Pakistan International Airlines ad announcing a resumption of flights between Islamabad and Paris was posted on Jan. 10 on its official X page. It shows a plane heading towards the Eiffel Tower with the tagline “Paris, We’re Coming Today.”
Since it was posted, the post has been viewed more than 21,000,000 times on X.
This ad sparked a backlash from social media commenters, who claimed that it was reminiscent of the 9/11 attacks in New York when two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, killing nearly 3,000 people.
Omar Quraishi said, “Did airline management fail to vet this?” Omar Quraishi is a former media adviser for X.
The airline hasn’t publicly commented on the advertisement. The airline could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Geo News in Pakistan reported that Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s vice-premier and foreign minister, said to lawmakers this week Prime Minister Shehbaz had ordered an investigation into the controversy. He described the ad’s “stupidity”.
Pakistan has been fighting domestic terrorism for many years, and also the activities of terrorists who are based in Pakistan. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. He was arrested in Pakistan by U.S. troops in 2003. Osama Bin Laden, whose Al Qaeda terrorist organization planned the attacks was also killed in Pakistan in 2011.
PIA flights into the European Union have been suspended since 2020, until late last summer. Safety concerns were raised after it was discovered that almost a third (33%) of PIA’s pilots had cheated in their exams. The airline is still banned in Britain and the United States.
Sharif said that the return of flights into the E.U. It would improve the airline’s reputation.
