Aga Khan University mourns the loss of colleagues and faculty staff in the Plane Crash in Northern Pakistan

President Firoz Rasul’s letter to the Faculty and Staff of the Aga Khan University.

We all learned yesterday about the tragic plane crash that took the lives of all 48 passengers who were en route from Chitral to Islamabad.

It is with much sadness and regret that I am writing to inform you that the passengers included three of our very own colleagues based at AKU’s Professional Development Centre Chitral (PDCC) who were travelling to Islamabad to attend a workshop. We will dearly miss our colleagues:

• Umara Khan (age 44), Associate at PDCC. Umara joined the PDCC in 2003. He is survived by his wife and two children, 9 and 12 years of age.
• Muhammad Khan (age 46), Senior Instructor and Deputy Head PDCC. Muhammad joined PDCC in 2004. He is survived by his wife and five children from 9 to 22 years of age. Muhammad was an alumnus of AKU-IED, Master of Education, Class of 2002.
• Akbar Ali (age 41), Senior Instructor PDCC. Akbar joined PDCC in 2009. He is survived by his wife and two children, 7 and 12 years of age. Akbar was an alumnus of AKU-IED, Master of Education, Class of 2009.

Dr. Sarfaroz Niyozov, the Director of AKU-IED and Dr. Moladad Shafa, the Head of PDCs are travelling to Chitral to meet with and provide support to the families of the deceased and our AKU colleagues at the PDCC.

We will always appreciate and remember the hard work and contributions that Umara, Muhammad and Akbar made to the University. I know you will want to join me in extending our deepest sympathies to their families as well as all the families who lost loved ones in this terrible accident. This is a very sad time for AKU. We will pay our respects together at the University Assembly in Pakistan tomorrow.

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