The District and Session Courts in Islamabad have ordered Airblue to pay Rs5.41 billion in compensation to the families of victims of the 2010 plane crash.
The court dismissed all eight appeals filed by Airblue in connection with the tragedy and directed the airline to provide full compensation to the victims’ families. Additional District and Session Judge Dr. Rasool Bakhsh Mirjat issued the written verdict.
Alongside the compensation, the court imposed a fine of Rs8 million on Airblue for filing the appeals, calling it a waste of judicial time.
The compensation amounts ordered include Rs143.189 million for Samira Naveed Choudhry and two others, Rs630.94 million for Rashid Zulfiqar and four others, Rs1.101 billion for Muhammad Ilyas, Rs507.348 million for Gohar Rehman, Rs996.048 million for Junaid Al-Zaman Hamid, Rs857.025 million for Muhammad Javed Khan, Rs572.666 million for Salima Rajput, and Rs606 million for Colonel (R) Shameem Akhtar.
Earlier, victims had appealed against the civil judge’s decision, which had allowed partial compensation of up to Rs10 million per individual. The High Court later referred the case back to the Sessions Judge for final adjudication.
The crash involved Airblue Flight 202, a domestic service from Karachi to Islamabad, which crashed on July 28, 2010. The aircraft struck the Margalla Hills while attempting to land at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport during adverse weather conditions.
All 152 people on board — 146 passengers and six crew members — were killed, making it Pakistan’s deadliest aviation accident. Authorities have emphasized the court’s decision as a long-awaited justice step for the families affected by this tragedy.
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