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Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an investigation into a controversial social media post by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that sparked outrage for its apparent resemblance to the 2001 World Trade Centre attacks in New York. The ad, intended to celebrate the resumption of flights to Paris after a four-year hiatus, was widely criticised on social media.
The advertisement, posted on PIA's official X account (formerly Twitter) on January 10, featured an image of an aircraft heading towards the Eiffel Tower with a backdrop of the French flag. The caption read: "Paris, we're coming today."
pic.twitter.com/qUoNCyL385
— PIA (@Official_PIA) January 10, 2025
While seemingly innocuous, the design's striking similarity to 9/11 imagery where hijacked planes were used in terrorist attacks on US landmarks triggered backlash. The post amassed over 21 million views within days.
During a parliamentary session, Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that Prime Minister Sharif had directed a probe into the scandal. "The Prime Minister has directed [authorities] to investigate who conceived this ad. It is stupidity," Dar said.
Despite the controversy, PIA's first flight to Paris in four years landed successfully at Charles de Gaulle Airport on January 10. Although the EU recently lifted the ban on PIA flights, the airline remains barred from operating in the United States and the United Kingdom.
This is far from the first time PIA has been embroiled in controversy. In 2017, the airline faced ridicule after staff members sacrificed a goat on the tarmac for good luck. In 2020, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) banned PIA flights following a fatal crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. Investigations revealed that the crash was due to pilot error and exposed that a third of Pakistan's pilots held fraudulent licenses.