ISLAMABAD, (NNI): The United Kingdom on Thursday handed over two state-of-the-art screening units to Pakistan for installing at airports in Lahore and Karachi.
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott attended the ceremony where the scanners were handed over to officials of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
With over 1.6 million people of Pakistani heritage in the UK making up every part of British society, both sides have a special and ever-growing special bond.
Hundreds of thousands of people travel between the UK and Pakistan every year, proof of the hugely significant UK-Pakistan people-to-people relationship. Air links are of vital importance for trade between the UK and Pakistan and the diaspora.
The scanners worth £164,000 (Rs60 million) will help detect illicit items in passenger baggage. This technology will help to protect both British and Pakistani nationals travelling from Pakistan to the UK and elsewhere.
This is one small part of the UK’s ongoing aviation work with Pakistan, which is helping to raise safety and security standards.
The UK takes aviation safety very seriously. International minimum standards help ensure that air travel is safe and secure for UK and Pakistani nationals and support international aviation to flourish.
Speaking on the occasion, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said: “I’m delighted to handover these state-of-the-art airport security scanners here in Karachi, a demonstration of UK support for security at Pakistan’s airports.”
“We all want travellers to fly safely and securely, this new technology means passengers can fly with greater confidence from Pakistan. Aviation plays a vital role in growing trade between the UK and Pakistan and enabling the diaspora to travel. Making flying safer brings the UK and Pakistan even closer together,” she added.
She also thanked the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority for arranging the ceremony and for the excellent cooperation “we have on both aviation security and safety issues”. NNI
