Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Gilgit-Baltistan visit postponed after PIA flight scheduling mix-up

The scheduled visit of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Gilgit-Baltistan was postponed on Sunday after what the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) described as a major administrative lapse by Pakistan International Airlines.

According to PPP Gilgit-Baltistan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari were unable to travel to Skardu after PIA allegedly rescheduled their flight without informing the party leadership or its coordination team.

In a statement, PPP Gilgit-Baltistan said that due to the airline's mismanagement, party leaders reached the airport only to discover that the flight had departed earlier than the previously communicated schedule. As a result, all events planned for the day in Gilgit-Baltistan were cancelled.

The party said the situation caused significant inconvenience for PPP workers, organizers and local administration officials who had made extensive arrangements for the visit.

PPP Gilgit-Baltistan President Amjad Advocate strongly criticized the airline's handling of the matter, describing it as an example of administrative incompetence.

He said thousands of PPP supporters had gathered in Skardu to welcome Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari. However, the visit could not take place because the flight schedule was changed and the aircraft departed ahead of the originally expected time.

Amjad Advocate alleged that the team accompanying Bilawal and Aseefa was not informed about the revised flight schedule by the PIA administration, leading to the disruption of the entire visit.

Condemning the incident, the PPP Gilgit-Baltistan president urged PIA authorities to avoid such mismanagement in the future, saying that better coordination and timely communication were essential to prevent similar situations.