Pakistan PM orders probe into scandalous ad resembling 9/11 attack
What's the story
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an investigation into a controversial social media post by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The post, shared on PIA's official X account, celebrated the resumption of flights to Paris after a four-year hiatus.
The ad included an image of a plane heading toward the Eiffel Tower with the French flag in the background and was captioned, "Paris, we are coming today."
Public backlash
Social media post sparks outrage over 9/11 resemblance
The post soon went viral, racking up over 21 million views and triggering widespread outrage for its similarity to the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States.
On September 11, 2001, hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Center's twin towers, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field, killing almost 3,000 people.
Speaking in a parliamentary session, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that Prime Minister Sharif had ordered an investigation, calling it "stupidity."
Past controversies
PIA's controversial history and recent flight resumption
PIA's inaugural flight to Paris safely landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport on January 10.
This was PIA's return to Europe after the European Aviation Safety Agency banned PIA flights in 2020 following a crash in Karachi that killed 97 people and exposed fake pilot licenses.
However, PIA is still banned from flying in the United States and the United Kingdom.