RAWALPINDI: A delegation consisting of seven members from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Asia-Pacific Combined Action Team (CAT) arrived in Pakistan from Bangkok on Monday for a five-day visit.

Dr Manjit Singh heads the ICAO team, and upon their arrival at Jinnah International Airport, they were received by senior officials from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. The other team members included, Sayata Senobua, Ms Matima Ariyachaphanich, Dr Manjit Singh, Hiroyuki Takata, Dr Punya Raj Shakya and Witsarut Chinwipat.

Special security arrangements have been put in place for the ICAO team during its visit to Pakistan. The team consisted of experts of Air Navigation Service (ANS), Air Routes and Ground Aids (AGA) section experts, legal and other experts.

Following the completion of their CAT mission tasks at HQCAA, Dr Singh will also visit Lahore from November 10 to 14. During this time, he will explore Sikh holy sites in and around the Punjab province. To ensure his safety and comfort during his visit to Lahore, foolproof security measures will be put in place. Upon his arrival in Lahore, Dr Singh will receive a welcome from the airport manager.

“The CAT’s visit in 2021 was a part of ICAO’s team visit, during which they devised an action plan aimed at addressing the issues that had been identified concerning the CAA,” an aviation official told Dawn.

“The aim of ICAO’s Asia Pasific Combined team is to observe whether the PCAA was following the action plan, if doing well then how it can be improved further,” he said, adding that this is not an ‘assessment’ visit.

A spokesman for the PCAA said that the ICAO CAT Mission is visiting the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority from Nov 6-10. The objective of this mission is to assist ICAO member States under the No Country Left Behind initiative and assist them for future ICAO validation missions.

“It is informed that the team is not here for any kind of audit. The only objective is to discuss corrective plans already submitted by CAA and assist if further improvement is required,” the spokesman said.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2023