Web Desk
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane has been held back in Malaysia as part of a legal dispute between the airline and another party, a spokesman of PIA said in a statement on Friday.
In a Twitter message, the spokesman said: “A PIA aircraft has been held back by a local court in Malaysia taking a one-sided decision pertaining to a legal dispute between PIA and another party pending in a UK court.
“The passengers are being looked after and alternate arrangements for their travel have been finalised,” the statement said.
“It is an unacceptable situation and PIA has engaged support from the government of Pakistan to take up this matter using diplomatic channels.”
It was a “payment dispute between us and the party Perigreen” that had been filed in the UK courts about six months ago, Spokesman Abdullah Khan was quoted by English newspaper, Daily Dawn.
A PIA aircraft has been held back by a local court in Malaysia taking one sided decision pertaining to a legal dispute between PIA and another party pending in a UK court.
The passengers are being looked after and alternate arrangements for their travel have been finalized.
— PIA (@Official_PIA) January 15, 2021
He said that the Malaysian court took an “ex-parte decision causing inconvenience to the passengers who had already boarded the plane”.
According to orders passed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Thursday as reported by the news agency Reuters, the plaintiff of the case is Peregrine Aviation Charlie Limited and the matter pertains to two jets leased to PIA by Dublin-based AerCap, the world’s largest aircraft lessor, in 2015.
They are part of a portfolio that AerCap sold to Peregrine Aviation Co Ltd, an investment unit of NCB Capital, the brokerage arm of National Commercial Bank SJSC, in 2018.
According to the interim injunction, PIA is restrained from moving two aircraft in its fleet — a Boeing 777- 200ER with serial number 32716 and a Boeing 777- 200ER with serial number 32717 — once they have landed or parked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport until a further hearing on the matter later this month.
Responding to media queries regarding the stranded Pakistan passengers, Foreign Office Spokesperson said Pakistani passengers stranded at Kuala Lumpur airport will be departing Kuala Lumpur by EK 343 later tonight@ForeignOfficePk https://t.co/yXEWr4JCkR
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) January 15, 2021
Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has said the Pakistani high commission in Malaysia was in close contact with the relevant Malaysian authorities and PIA “to address the issue at the earliest”.
“Meanwhile, the passengers are being properly looked after and alternate arrangements for their travel to Pakistan have also been finalised,” he said, adding that they will be departing Kuala Lumpur by Emirates flight EK-343 later tonight.
