 "Pakistan orders probe after airline ad gets flak for evoking 9/11 memories")
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a thorough investigation into a controversial social media post by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that drew sharp criticism for its eerie resemblance to the 9/11 World Trade Centre terror attack in New York. The ad, meant to celebrate the resumption of flights from Islamabad to Paris after four years, faced a social media firestorm.
The post, shared on PIA's official X account (formerly Twitter) on January 10, featured an image of a plane heading toward the Eiffel Tower with a backdrop of the French flag. The caption read: "Paris, we're coming today."
While intended to promote the airline’s milestone, the imagery struck many as alarmingly similar to the 9/11 attacks, where two planes hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind behind the terror attack, was killed in a US military operation on May 2, 2011, in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The post quickly went viral, racking up over 21 million views and sparking outrage online.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar addressed the issue in a Parliamentary session, confirming the Prime Minister’s directive for an inquiry. "The Prime Minister has directed [authorities] to investigate who conceived this ad. It is stupidity," Dar stated.
Amid the uproar, PIA's first flight to Paris in four years landed successfully at Charles de Gaulle Airport on January 10. The milestone comes after the European Union recently lifted its ban on PIA flights, though the airline remains prohibited from operating in the US and UK.
This isn’t the first controversy to dog Pakistan's national carrier. In 2017, PIA faced global ridicule after its staff sacrificed a goat on the tarmac for good luck. In 2020, an plane crash in Karachi claimed 97 lives and led to the EU ban after investigations revealed pilot error and a discovery that a third of Pakistan's pilots held fraudulent licences.