Kundi Urges Restoration of Benazir Bhutto Airport Name

News Desk

Peshawar: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has formally requested President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to rename the New Islamabad International Airport as Benazir Bhutto International Airport, in honor of the late former prime minister.

In separate letters addressed to the president and prime minister on Monday, Governor Kundi highlighted that the old Islamabad airport was officially named Benazir Bhutto International Airport on June 21, 2008, following her assassination in December 2007. However, in April 2018, the Aviation Division renamed the newly constructed airport as New Islamabad International Airport, removing Bhutto’s name.

Kundi emphasized that naming major airports after national leaders is a global tradition, citing examples such as Jinnah International Airport (Karachi), Allama Iqbal International Airport (Lahore), Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi), Sheikh Zayed International Airport (Rahim Yar Khan), and Begum Nusrat Bhutto International Airport (Sukkur), among others.

He argued that restoring Bhutto’s name would honor her contributions and sacrifices for Pakistan’s democracy.

With the old Islamabad airport now converted into a Technology Park, he stressed that renaming the current international airport after Benazir Bhutto holds even greater significance.

The governor urged the prime minister and president to respond to public demand and direct relevant authorities to implement the name restoration.

A response from the President’s and Prime Minister’s Offices is awaited.