Qatar Airways gifts A-310 to Pakistan


Islamabad • In a reflection of growing ties between Qatar and Pakistan, Qatar Airways has donated Pakistan an Airbus A-310, The Peninsula learnt yesterday.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz thanked the State of Qatar and said the gesture symbolised the close ties of the two brotherly countries and desire on their part to strengthen these relations.

The Airbus was handed over to Pakistan yesterday.

Talking to Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, the prime minister said Pakistan and Qatar were bound in ties of common faith and culture with shared perceptions, which explains their keenness to cement economic and trade ties for which “there is great potential”.

Akbar Al Baker later called on Aziz yesterday. The prime minister noted a large number of expatriate Pakistanis were working in Qatar and playing a vital role in its development.

He expressed his government’s desire to send in more such dedicated workforce.

Aziz also praised the progress made by Qatar Airways in a short span of time. He said Pakistan International Airlines, the country’s national flag carrier, and Qatar Airways should increase cooperation to share the best practices.

The meeting was attended among others by Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Khan Durrani; State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Tariq Azeem Khan; Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Commander Khalil ur Rehman and senior officials.


http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_n...07022635220.xml

Yeah just like they handed over Mirage 2000 fighter jets to India, now they send us civilian plane and we are meant to say thank you. No sir No you can keep it we dont need it.

What disgusting news! Don't we have any self respect and shame left. Accepting an 18 year old piece of shitty junk. What pathetic state are we in that we have become a dumping ground for the rest of the world.

Did really Qatar gifted India mirages or India buyed them?

18 year old plane? What we gonna do with it? sell it as scrap?

When the hell we will stop accepting BS donations like that.

With all due respect to Qater and Pak F'ship and Muslim brotherhood this deal.

Lol. So it was a gift to the govt of Pakistan or to PIA. Now all they need to hand us over is the little peninsula called Qatar. We bought Gawadar from them back in the day and now the deal needs to be completed by including the other part as well. Lol

Gwadar was bought from Oman not Qatar. Qatar sold the 18 used Mirages to India, because India threatened to cancel a huge gas shipment order worth billions of dollars. Its called India having economic clout, something Pakistan still needs to work on. Qatar does a lot for the Muslim world all the way from helping Lebanese refugees to helping fund the rebuilding of an entire village in Kashmir.

Qatar's economy is booming and Pakistan needs to take full advantage of it. Send in workers, companies, and try their best to land lucrative contracts there. This way we can build better relations, influence and help Pakistan's economy. Unfortunately the stupid embassy there is more interested in hosting stupid Urdu/Pashtun mushairas instead.

Our current PIA aircraft aren't worth talking about. Why do you think the EU is banning the PIA almost completely from Europe. The majority of the aircraft in our national carrier are old and getting an 18 year old A-310 for free is not a bad thing.


Oh yeah and by the way, Qatar may be a tiny peninsula, but they're considered one of the richest countries in the world. They host one of the largest US bases in world and the Emir there is bringing in plenty of democratic reforms. They are way ahead of Pakistan in terms social support for their people, infrastructure and education.

Not that I'm saying Pakistan is bad, but it ticks me off how some here completely dismiss gulf countries. We should be trying our best to improve relations with countries like these.

The deal between India and Qatar with regards to the sale of 18 second hand Mirage 2000s never materialized. India at the last minute came up with too short of a price which Qatar found way below reasonable.

ZPAK Qatar is one of richest countrys in world with highest Arab GDP and also in world but its because they export so much gas.

Qatar is part of GCC so means they are not nice people, you need to learn but more about GCC and other peoples, end of story this kind of wishful thinking is only for the closed minded. GCC is sellout countrys.

Aziqbal: I lived in Qatar for 7+ years and Saudi Arabia for at least a decade. I've been to each GCC country and I am well aware of the situation in Qatar.

However its obvious that you've committed the typical sin of generalization. Your statement: "Qatar is part of GCC so means they are not nice people" obviously doesn't stand. Each and every country works first for its own benefit and that includes Pakistan. Heck even Pakistan has done things that many fellow Pakistanis think is amount to "being sellouts".

Yes so Qatar exports a lot of Gas, your point doesn't stand. Pakistan has abundant resources, as well. The difference is Qatar is properly utilizing their resources for the benefit of their people. Pakistan on the other hand has had a rather up and down history of managing resources.

In the end my point stands, Qatar is an excellent destination for Pakistani workers to go and earn money and send back remittances. Its only a two hour flight from Karachi, and we share many customs and political views with them.

Qatar has offered to invest in our dairy sector as well as help us with rebuilding some areas of Kashmir. I consider them to be muslim brothers and excellent hosts.

I personally find them much more educated and understanding than say the Saudis and Kuwaitis. SUre there are always those few who corrupt the image, but dont tell me all Pakistanis are amazing.

my first impression of this was just adding insult to injury

first our planes get banned from europe and then we get handed some plane from qatar.

lol.... anything else they giving away....free gas???

flex, why do you guys get worked up about this....after floods in Britian Mozambique donated money worth £50,000... it's a gesture.

P.S had it been 10 years unlimited free gas would I hear all these comments? I think underneath it all we're all a bit greedy.

Qatar did not hand over a single Mirage 2000-5 to India, they wanted India to buy them - but the price India offered was too low. If Pakistan tomorrow decided to buy the Mirage 2000-5s at the price Qatar wanted, it would get them.

Secondly, the A-310 is a special VIP type for the Pakistan Air Force. I think it gives us a chance to convert it into an A-310 MRTT which is also a in-flight refueling tanker, cargo transport and medical evacuation aircraft - as well as VVIP.

Well ZPAK good for you, I am not against Arabs but if they are against me then takes two to tango. Fact is GCC countrys are all US puppets and worthless sellouts, if someone helps Pakistan then that is a fine gesture but remember the crimes commited by these Arabs. This BS sports complex called the Aspire which meant to be world class is a total failure and no Arabs make medals in Olympics. GCC arabs are arrogant, big headed, low mentality and uneducated, they went from bedouins to shopping centres in less than a generation like monkeys from Zoo to civilsation they cant fit into modern society.

Pakistan workers in GCC are treated worse than dogs, they are humiliated at airports and are treated like criminals. I have seen the behavoiur of these arabs in restaurants shouting at foregin staff over small issues like un-cooked kebabs and workers dont dare speak back, yet when white mouth speaks Arabs shi$t in thier pants.

I envy Iran because they got balls, they got something GCC dont have in next 100 years. What was GCC up and till 20 years ago, you meet good you think good you clearly havnt met the ones who belive that any Pakistan Mullana cant lead Juma prayer at Jamia Masjid in GCC, or the ones who see all Pakistanis as lower class humans come on dont be blind everyone knows GCC is a$$hole.

Its azibal again with his anti arab rants. I should be doing my work I got presentation tommorrow but I gonna stalk aziqbal instead.

Read my posts I am not anti-arab, anti-GCC maybe. Syrians, Lebanese, Egyptians, North Africans, Iraqis and Sudanese are our brothers. When I say Arabs I mean GCC. Jordanians thugs are also included and this is not for your entertainment.

Lol oh yaara, it looks like you've had encounters with only the bad ones. Bad luck I guess. If you're going to call GCC sellouts, we might as well call ourselves sellouts as well. What crimes exactly are you referring to in your post? The creation of the Aspire stadium?? The GCC have given more "friendly gestures" then our baap Uncle Sam ever has. And as far as Iran is concerned, I haven't heard of single GCC country willing to let India use its ports in case of conflict with us. Iran however has a nice little deal with the Indians incase you haven't heard.

In the end, Qatar is one of the few countries I have some respect for. I know the GCC people can be a pain in the ass but once you gain their respect they can be quite friendly. You know, that Pakistanis dont exactly help themselves when it comes to image. Majority of the drug traffickers, child jockey smugglers, smugglers of pirated materials that have been caught in the GCC have been Pakistani or Indian. Its sad but true. Their suspicion isn't unfounded, and the image just doesn't come just like that.

Aspire yaar, where in Pakistan have you seen a sports complex like the Aspire. I was there during the Asian games dude, Qatar won more medals than Pakistan man! A country of a 700,000 has a better sports record then that of 165 million Pakistan!! They at least use the money to help their people man, not pocket it and send it out to swiss banks. I'm not saying they're perfect, but seriously compare them to Pakistan and nuff said. And the thing that gets me the most, Pakistan has soooo much potential to do sooo much better than these people, yet leave the airport in Karachi and the traffic alone, shows how civicly advanced we are.

They have plenty of Maulana's in the GCC why would they hire a foreigner? To be frank, Pakistani maulana's dont exactly portray a great image of themselves. With the 5 million plus divisions we see in Islam in Pakistan, heck even i would hesitate. The religious establishments in the GCC work with the government and actually help educate the people. Not play petty politics and cause riots and block roads. Among my GCC friends, I have led the Jamaat a number of times. In the end aziqbal, your arguments only show a personal dislike based on prejudice and probably a few bad encounters.

I know i highlighted in another thread. that you were anti GCC/Saudi/arab.

2PAC well its good to hear that you get along with the Arabs. Personaly apart from being interrogated by the Jordanian border security I havnt directly had contact with the "Arabs" as you know who are very noisey people.

However I have travaled over most of Middleast and in GCC been all over UAE and just Kuwait city for 1 day. But the treatment that I have seen at the hands of "Arabs" is shocking. And I am not just refering to Pakistanis im talking about Indonesians, Sri Lankans, Chinese and whoever is from Asia.

How many of these countrys are signatorys of equal rights and human conventions act, not many. Only last year did UAE agree for electronic camel jockies.

President Jim Wolfensohn, Human Rights Watch called on the World Bank to champion an international convention for the protection of migrants in Gulf states.

I am not saying Pakistani are all god fairys off course not but GCC arabs now think that ALL pakistanis are lower class based on thier experience with migrant workers. When they come over to study in UK they still have that mentality I know them.

In general GCC thugs maybe nice to you cause maybe you got another passport, like me or like anyone who travels there for holiday or busines but you go there on work permit mate and they will shagg you big time.

Yeah Pakistan got big problems and are trouble makers but that dont mean they get this sort of treatment, in Syria and Turkey you really realise what the word brother means they are most humble and respect and freinds you can meet, then you go and meet GCC warlords then you realise difference.

We can call it a love/hate relationship, we are muslims at end of the day but some definatly dont behave like some. How many medals did Qatar win in Asian games. Peace out.

Why is this bad news? The more planes we can get, the better it is for us. Much of our country is undeveloped, so are our people, and our infrastructure, and the list goes on.

Don't let your patriotism cross the line of ignorance.

Its the personal air transport of the Qatari Emir (A7-AAF).

Comes loaded with lots of goodies. And owing to the nature of its VIP role, must have a low Cycle count. The 18 year figure on its age doesnt do justice to the actual remaining life of the airframe in this particular case.

I say its a welcome addition!

Everything comes with a price.

http://dawn.com/2007/02/27/nat11.htm

‘Aircraft gifted by Qatar to be used by PM, president’

By Baqir Sajjad Syed

ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: An aircraft gifted by Qatar would be used by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesman said on Monday.

The Airbus A-310-304, which was part of Qatar’s fleet, was handed over to Pakistan on Sunday.

Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker came to Pakistan especially to hand over the aircraft.

Mr Aziz accepted the gift saying the gesture of the Qatar government was a symbol of close ties and the desire of both the countries to strengthen their relations. The 89-seat aircraft is equipped with facilities like conference room.

The aircraft would most likely carry the PAF livery, PAF spokesman Air Commodore Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan said, adding that the operational details were being worked out.

President Musharraf is already having a Gulfstream for his travel. However, for overseas VVIP tours an Airbus with tail number AP-BEC was mostly spared from Pakistan International Airline’s fleet.

The gift comes at a time when Qatar is pressing for additional flights to several Pakistani destinations, one of its longstanding demands. Qatar Airways, which is aggressively enhancing its international operations, is currently having 13 flights to Pakistan.

The 18-year-old aircraft bearing tail number A7-AAF was first flown on March 20, 1989, and has remained with Somalia and Yemen mostly on lease before it entered the Qatari fleet in 2001.

i wonder how it would work if both Musharaff and Shaukat Aziz needed the plane on the same day. would they toss a coin or something, or maybe they would wrestle and whoever wins gets the plane. i think Musharaff should pass an ordinance that in such an event he has first refusal on the aircraft.

And what's he gonna call it? Airforce One is already taken, so how about Airforce Two? I like the name 'President Sahib ka Riksha'.

Looks like it'll be a PAF aircraft that will carry VIPs as well.

18 years plane is not exactly a junk. This is not a car we are talking about. And Qatar does have a good maintenance record.

Even if Qatar donates a freaking plane, members start here bash up the GCC, Arab and their whole race. Its pretty sad. What do you guys want? A lifetime stay at Burj al Arab?

I hope some of you guys read your own posts at the end of the day and realize!

President Number 1?

Qatar only purchased this plane in 2001, there are details in todays DAWN, it is still in good condition and not used much.

May be Hellraiser is angry on some other act of Qatar, but in international politics things change.

By the way, Qatar is asking for more air routes in Pakistan from CAA, that is the only reason behind this gift, look for details in DAWN.

It was acquired by Qatar Amiri Flight in 1998. It was only transfered over to Qatar Airways in 2001.

http://www.planespotters.net/Production_Li...s/A310/473.html

The 18-year-old aircraft bearing tail number A7-AAF was first flown on March 20, 1989, and has remained with Somalia and Yemen mostly on lease before it entered the Qatari fleet in 2001.

http://dawn.com/2007/02/27/nat11.htm

Nevertheless, once the Emir thought that it was not something he'd want to travel in anymore, decides to give it as Rishwat to Pakistan, so that they can get more air routes within Pakistan, which was their longstanding demand.

The jewish lobby at it again. What a moron. And I guess no Pakistani business or business man would ever give Rishwat to advance their business oppotunities.

Sorry - but did you even check the link that i posted up there?

The dawn article is misleading. It did NOT enter the "Qatari fleet" in 2001. That was back in 1998 when it was acquired by the Qatar Amiri Flight (their royal VIP flight group). What it entered in 2001 was the Qatar Airways - from the Qatar Amiri Flight.

Heres the link again:
http://www.planespotters.net/Production_Li...s/A310/473.html

So, how exactly is this a "price" for Pakistan? Whats Pakistan got to lose from this?

Shehz maybe you can tell us how giving more flight destinations is a cost to Pakistan since you put up the article. Its a good thing if Qatar Airways gets to service more Pakistanis, in more cities.

PIA, Shaheen, Aero Asia, etc., will lose revenue.
It's not as if we are forced to fly 1 airline, we already have competition amongst Pakistani registered carriers. Why dole out revenue to internationl carriers? Our economy needs the revenue generation.

And besides, PIA is not allowed to do the same. Example, we can't carry passengers from NY to Chicago-St.Louis-San Fransisco-Houston either. Or from London-Amsterdam-Zurich-Paris either. Similarly we don't have passenger rights from Dubai-Muscat-Doha-Manama-Kuwait either. Every region monopolizes their sector with their own regional based carriers.

We've given Qatar Airways 13 destinations already, why are they pressing for more? We have been giving them almost extinct species hunting permits for decades, let's call it even!

And this is not my thread, I didn't put up any article. The above is my logic, now let's see your logic that giving them more destinations is actually good for our economy.