DUSHANBE, May 11, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan and Pakistan have started direct flights between Dushanbe and Lahore.
The flights that began from May 6 are aimed at improving and strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries.
Tajik private airline, Somon Air, operates this twice-weekly service on Mondays and Fridays.
According to
The Express Tribune
(Pakistan), Tajikistan allows workforce hiring from Pakistan.
Tajikistan is reportedly the first among Central Asian states to commence direct flights to Pakistan. About 100 passengers go to Tajikistan via indirect flights and land routes through Afghanistan every month,
The Express Tribune
reports.
The Express Tribune
says that according to a Tajik embassy official, Lahore to Dushanbe would be the first phase and in the second phase, direct flights would be operated from Karachi to Dushanbe.
“Direct flights would increase economic ties and people-to-people contact between the two countries,” Tajik Ambassador to Pakistan Sherali Jononov was quoted as saying.
Comparing the cost of direct and indirect flights, Jononov said, “An indirect flight costs Rs120,000 while the direct flight will cost only Rs35,000. Since it is a lot cheaper, it is likely that the number of passengers will also increase.”
Since Pakistan and Russia were making efforts to forge better economic ties including the signing of a government-to-government $2 billion deal for laying a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline from Karachi to Lahore, the Tajik official said, “Pakistani passengers can also use the Dushanbe route and take their next flight to Russia or even Europe.”
At present, no direct flights are operated between Pakistan and Russia, according to
The Express
Tribune
.
