In telephone call with British FM, Pakistan's Dar stresses early resumption of PIA flights to UK

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday held telephonic talks with his British counterpart David Cameron and stressed the need for early resumption of flights of Pakistan's national carrier to the United Kingdom.

Dar said that flights of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) would help to "bolster linkages" between the two nations, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Dar received a call from Foreign Secretary Cameron and during the conversation, he requested "early resumption of PIA flights between Pakistan and the UK to further boost linkages, particularly given the large Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom," it said.

He thanked Cameron for his felicitations on the former assuming office, saying he looked forward to working closely with the UK leadership to strengthen the bilateral relations.

Dar stressed the need to enhance bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, people-to-people contacts and climate matters.

The two ministers also discussed regional issues, including Afghanistan and the situation in Gaza. Dar also invited Cameron to visit Pakistan on mutually convenient dates.

He also reiterated the importance of the Pakistan-UK relationship, saying that the two countries had longstanding, historic relations with multifaceted cooperation. The foreign minister emphasised the "early conclusion of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership agreement to take relations to the next level".

In July 2020, the UK joined several countries in suspending PIA's flight operations after the stunning revelation by Pakistan's aviation minister of that time that several PIA pilots were operating without proper licences.

Dar also said on Saturday that PIA flights to the UK would resume "in weeks, not months", and that he took up the matter of banned flights of the national carrier with British government officials over the weekend in London.

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