Last year in May, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane, carrying 99 people onboard, crashed in Karachi's Model Colony near Jinnah International Airport.

Bank of Punjab (BOP) President Zafar Masud — one of the two people to survive the devastating crash — laments that since then, nothing has changed at a national level for improving passenger safety.

“I believe that we need to bring domestic flight standards at par with international ones and enforce standardised procedures to handle crashes and their aftermath," he told Dawn.com.

“I believe that the entire ecosystem needs to be reviewed and revamped to ensure better safety and security standards,” he said.

Read: A timeline of major air crashes in Pakistan

To achieve this, Masud has decided to set up a non-profit dedicated to work on passenger safety and security.

“The foundation will serve two main functions — firstly, work on raising awareness about passenger safety and their rights within the civil society and secondly, work with policy makers to improve standards and regulations, pushing for legislative change and their implementation, and for better legal assistance and coverage for affectees," he said.

'Survivor's guilt'

A year later, Masud said that as he worked on recovering from the incident, particularly recovery in terms of mental health, he discovered other complications beyond those that were apparent.

“I realised that I have been engulfed with survivor’s guilt. I could not bring myself to meet with the other survivor or the victims' families. I struggled to attend funerals without thinking that the [families] of the deceased must be wondering why I was given a miracle when their loved ones were not.

“This is probably the most difficult phase of my life which I am still trying to grapple with, [with] a great deal of effort and courage.

“This was a life changing experience with reinforcement of certain thoughts which were tentative before the crash. I now have reasonable clarity on what’s important in life and what’s not and that is the fundamental outcome of the incident in the last one year,” said the BOP chief executive officer.

First person: Miracle on a Model Colony street

In response to a question regarding support or counselling offered by authorities, Masud said he had been managing on his own and has never needed or asked authorities for any sort of assistance.

“God has been very kind to me and I have been managing things on my own, including psychiatric counselling, medical treatment, travelling tickets etc, with the unwavering support of my employers and my family and friends.”

'Saddest day'

The PK 8303 crash occurred just two days before the country observed Eidul Fitr. The flight came down about a kilometre short of the runway on its second attempt to land. On June 24, 2020, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the initial report of the crash found the pilots and air traffic control to be at fault for not following set procedures.

As one of the two survivors, Masud said the “single biggest aspect” that unsettles him is the fact that the crash resulted in the loss of 97 lives. “May 22, 2020 to me was one of the saddest days in our lives and will remain so forever,” said the 50-year-old.

“Appreciation for relationships and connection with people has always been my hallmark but it has now become my motto for life.”

In pictures: PIA flight PK-8303 crashes in Karachi's Model Colony

Masud said the victims’ families continue to grieve and remained unsatisfied with the process, which was reason enough to believe that in the process of providing them with justice, there remain gaps which are unaddressed.

On May 12, members of the victims’ families staged a protest at the Karachi Press Club during which they voiced their concerns regarding the investigation into the crash and the distribution of insurance money.

Conquering his fear

Masud has travelled by air many times since the crash on different local airlines. The first such flight was in September 2020, which he said was to get rid of the fear of travelling not wanting to live in such a fear.

On September 26, Masud travelled on PIA flight PK 304 from Karachi to Lahore, where he currently resides. He was received at the Lahore airport by PIA CEO retired Air Marshal Arshad Malik.

“I made it a point to travel on the same airline and sat on the same seat,” said the BOP president, adding: “The flight was smooth and I was totally relaxed except for a brief flare of anxiety when the plane began to descend in Lahore.”

Read: Survivor recalls horror of Karachi plane crash that killed 97

At the time, the second survivor, Zubair, had said he did not want to travel by air and had chosen road travel instead due to safety concerns.

“I had already said I will never travel by PIA, however, I would consider it I was offered a journey like the other survivor Zafar Masud,” he was quoted as saying.