KARACHI(National Times)- The funeral prayers in absentia for flight engineer Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, one of the five crew members of a cargo plane that crashed in the Arabian Sea on July 7, were offered near his residence in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on Sunday.
A K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft, en route from Sharjah to Karachi, had crashed in the Arabian Sea, about 300 kilometres west of Karachi. Rescuers found the wreckage in a deep-sea search operation. Five crew members, including two pilots, two engineers, and one support staffer, were on board the aircraft, and their bodies have still not been found.
On Sunday, a large number of people offered funeral prayers in absentia for Siddiqui, which was led by his son, Abdul Rafay.
Moving scenes were witnessed during and after the funeral prayers. People demanded that the government intensify efforts to locate the bodies of the victims.
City leadership of the Jamaat-i-Islami also attended the funeral.
Talking to the media, JI leader Muslim Parvez observed that that the continued failure to recover the victims’ remains and the aircraft’s black box was deeply concerning.
He also criticised what he termed the government’s inadequate efforts to search the sea for bodies following the crash.
“The sudden disappearance of the aircraft from radar is a major tragedy that requires a comprehensive, transparent and impartial investigation,” he said.
He urged the authorities to ensure an independent inquiry into the accident and to utilise all available resources to locate the victims and recover the flight data recorder, so that the affected families could receive clarity and some measure of reassurance regarding their loved ones.
