Pakistan plans on probing 9/11-style airline ad
Date
1/20/2025 6:47:14 AM
(MENAFN) Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an investigation into a controversial advertisement released by Pakistan International airlines (PIA), which depicted a plane seemingly heading toward the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The ad, intended to celebrate the resumption of flights to Paris after a four-year suspension, sparked outrage for its disturbing resemblance to the 9/11 terror attacks, where hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
The advertisement, which showed a plane approaching the Eiffel Tower with the caption "Paris, we’re coming today," was criticized online, with some suggesting it resembled a potential terrorist attack. Critics, including former government advisor Omar Quraishi, questioned how the airline failed to vet the ad, especially given Pakistan's association with the 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, who was found in the country in 2011.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar condemned the airline’s "stupidity" and confirmed that Sharif had ordered an inquiry. This is not the first time PIA has faced backlash over a provocative PR campaign, with a similar ad in 1979 showing a shadow of a plane over the Twin Towers and a 2016 incident involving a ritual goat sacrifice by ground staff.
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