Diplomats Remembered

“The Government needs to come out with a proper explanation for the failure that caused the helicopter accident in Gilgit, which killed and injured ambassadors, spouses and Pakistani pilots”, said Ambassador Roldolfo Martin Saravia, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, at a Condolence Meeting in Islamabad last Friday, two weeks after the tragedy. 

He said this is not only important to the diplomatic community; it is also important to the Pakistan Government. It must be proven that it was not done by the hand of terrorism.”
“If there were mistakes, we must find them and draw lessons for the future”, he said.
Irshad Ullah-Khan, who hosted the meeting on behalf of the Oxbridge Society, also underlined the need for finding the causes.
“We cannot allow Pakistan to be known as a country of tragedy”, he said.
He also drew attention to the recent tragedy in Karachi. He then read two poems which he had written specifically for the Condolence Meeting paying tribute to the slain diplomats and civilians.
The Romanian Ambassador, Ian Emilion, who survived the accident uninjured, spoke at the somber meeting, thanking God for having been spared, grieving those who had passed away or been injured.
Maj. General Hafeezur Rehman represented the Pakistan Army at the Condolence Meeting, which was attended by more than two hundred diplomats, government officials and members of the civil society.