On the morning of July 28, the country awakened to shocking news. A plane carrying 152 passengers and cabin crew from Karachi rammed into the Margalla Hills near the capital, killing all those who were onboard.

Soon after television channels aired the devastating news of the plane crash, family members, relatives and acquaintances of the passengers flocked to Karachi's Jinnah International Airport despite that heavy rain. As the black clouds thundered and roared, it seemed as if the heavens were also mourning the loss of the ill-fated passengers.

Meanwhile, at the domestic lounge of the airport, moving scenes were witnessed when people came to inquire about their loved ones. Teary-eyed and anxious, were desperate for news of their loved ones.

A makeshift information desk of the private air carrier was set up at the airport while on a notice board, the passenger list of the doomed Airblue Flight 202 was pinned.

Soon after the incident, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had announced that there were five survivors amongst the passengers. Every person coming to the airport had just one prayer and hope on their lips: that their loved ones would be amongst the survivors.

Sarwar who was eyeing the passengers' lists, was one of those who wished that his neighbour Abdul Ghaffar was among the lucky ones who had survived. 'I hope that he is one of the people who have been saved. He has two young children and they, along with his wife, are all very worried.'

But as the hours ticked by, there was no information regarding the survivors and the people became more and more worried. 'The information desk is not helping us at all. They are not revealing the names of the passengers who have survived the plane crash,' said a brother of Muhammad Asad who was onboard the plane. Similarly, two colleagues of a chartered accountant Abu Baker Razzak ran here and there, seeking any information about his welfare.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed as some of those assembled broke down and sobbed hysterically. A boy cried for his father who had gone to attend a meeting. A Somali woman wept in disbelief for her uncle who was on the plane. Everywhere, there were tears, anxiety and uncertainty.

'We don't know how many people have died or survived,' said an official of the information desk, turning away the disappointed people. But by the evening, the anxiety had vanished as all hope that their loved ones were alive had gone. It was soon officially announced that all the passengers aboard the flight had died and that the family members were to be taken to the capital to receive the charred bodies of the ill-fated victims.

There were 146 passengers on board, including two infants, and six members of the cabin crew. The travellers included six members of the Youth Parliament, Bilal Jamaee, Prem Chand, Syeda Rabab Zehra Naqvi, Hassan Javed Khan, Owais bin Laiq, Syed Arsalan Ahmad as well as two newly-wed couples, Ayesha and Asif, and Owais and Rumaisa. There was a footballer Misha Dawood and a former athlete Zafar Salim on board as well. The entire cabin crew hailed from Karachi and included Captain Pervez Iqbal Chaudhry, First Officer Muntajib Chughtai and four air hostesses, Umme Habiba, Naheed Bhatti, Hina Usman and Shazia Razza.

While talking to Kolachi, Mrs Imran, the sister-in-law of newly-married Owais Khan, who was going to the capital along with his wife Rumaisa for their honeymoon, said that the family is in deep shock since they came to know about the incident. 'Owais's mother keeps on calling his name, asking us bring him back. Our family has fallen apart. I knew him since childhood as I was his neighbour. What has happened is unbelievable. We recently celebrated the couple's marriage and are now mourning our loss.' She added that his body had not been identified and the remains have been sent for DNA testing.

Owais, who had done his BBA from PAF-KEIT, owned a private dairy farming business. A close friend of his said that Owais was very popular in the university and participated in many event management programmes. 'He was a great person, a very loving and caring friend.'

Abid, a friend of the deceased chairman of the Oil Tanker Owner's Association, Ainullah Agha, said that he had known Ainullah since 10 years. 'He had gone to Islamabad to lodge a protest against the imposition of four per cent tax. He had gone to raise his voice on behalf of all the oil tankers owners.' Abid came to know about the crash through a news channel. 'I went to Islamabad to receive the body but only the remains were left. Upon returning back to Karachi, I did not show the remains to the family and buried them immediately.' Ainullah is survived by his wife and five children.

Vijay, a colleague of Prem Chand, one of the Youth Parliamentarians, knew him since 1999. 'I was married in the village where Prem used to live and became friends with him from then onwards.' He said that Prem took charge from his mother of supporting the family. 'His father had died when he was only two and the mother was supporting him by working as a labourer. He started working when he was only 14-year-old. According to him, Prem worked for a number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and wanted to help impoverished people.

Meanwhile, the wife and three children of Rehmatullah Domki, an official of the FIA was also onboard the doomed plane. A colleague of his, Moazam Jah Ansari, also a Director in the FIA, said that he along with Rehmatullah were travelling on PIA, which departed after the Airblue flight. 'Rehmatullah couldn't get a seat on Airblue so he sent his family on that airline and booked a seat for himself on PIA.

He said that due to low visibility and bad weather conditions, the PIA plane was diverted to Lahore. Upon landing, they came to know about the plane crash and rushed to Islamabad. 'For a while we waited at the PIMs hospital, hoping that they might be amongst the survivors but no bodies came there. And soon we learnt that there were no survivors.' He said that they also visisted the crash site but there was nothing there except debris.

Iftikhar Ahmed Chaudhry did not know what awaited him as he crossed the bridge to get to the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport on July 28.

'I have never been so shocked in my life,' says Chaudhry, who has been a Station Manager in Pakistan International Airlines for 33 years now. He says the minute he entered the airport he got a call from one of his colleagues informing him about a plane crash in Islamabad. Till then, it was not clear which airline the plane belonged to. 'For those few minutes I was frantically calling everyone up, the people in the Emergency Response Centre (ERC) and God knows who else, without a clue as to what had actually transpired.'

It was after he went to his office and switched on the news that he got to know that it was an Airblue flight that had crashed. PIA flight PK 300, which had departed from Karachi was asked to divert to Lahore, minutes before the Airblue plane crashed. Chaudhry says that it was not as if he was relieved that it was a different airline; there was a feeling of instant empathy with all the passengers and cabin crew that were on board.

He says like everyone else, he is also very sad and mourning the death of his dearest colleague who was flying the ill-fated plane on that day. 'I had known Pervez Iqbal Chaudhry for many years as he had given 35 years of his life to PIA. No one can imagine the pain and sorrow I went through at that time,' says Chaudhry, while sitting in his office, sifting through papers while talking.

Working in a field that demands full attention to detail, Chaudhry says that he did not meet the late pilot often but they were always pulling each other's leg when they met, even if for a brief while.

Keeping the papers aside for a few minutes he said that just a few days before this incident he was teasing his friend to move back to PIA. 'We met outside the departure lounge before going our respective ways. I teased him about how does it feels to control small planes after flying jumbo airplanes at PIA. As polite as ever, he said it is very easy and convenient. I teased him some more and asked him to consider the offer and that his airline would accommodate him in whichever way it could. Three days after that, I was informed that he was onboard the plane that crashed in the Margalla hills. It was like a punch in my stomach,' says Chaudhry smiling sadly.

He says the airline, for its part, provided as much help as it could to their colleagues in finding out the facts as well as the passenger's list of those on board.

Working as a Flight Manager at Airblue, for the past six years, Libby D'Souza says that the loss and grief she feels is unimaginable but at the end of the day this is their job. This is what they have been trained for. 'We work as a pretty close unit and I, in particular, am close to all my girls as right from their training to grooming, which goes on for months, we remain in close contact.' She says that while in training the crew is clearly informed and prepared about the Standard Operating Procedures but a tragedy of this nature was a hard fact to digest.

While speaking to Kolachi, she said that the most difficult part of their job was to inform the parents of the crew. 'This is something which can happen anywhere, anytime. At the same time, the most saddening part is that a majority of the cabin crew consisted of young people, who had either just joined or had recently passed their gruelling training.'

D'Souza says that she was close to two girls in particular, Javeria and Shazia. 'They were making plans to go to Murree after reaching Islamabad and had already asked me to be there toof. I stayed back to finish some official work, and just imagine I am now in Islamabad and feel empty inside as I realise that we can never plan anything.'

A young airhostess at Airblue, on condition of anonymity, said that she lost her closest friend in the plane crash. Waiting for the lift inside the airport she says that SOPs are always there 'But I don't think those poor people even knew that the plane was about to crash. At the end of the day it all boils down to fate maybe that was what was meant to be.' When she was asked whether she now feels hesitant before boarding a flight, she looked me right in the eye and said that if she ever flinched for a second she would leave the airline.

Chaudhry speaks on the same lines and says that life has slowly gone back to normal for the crew, though this incident will be in their subconscious for a long time. He says it is very clear why this incident happened. 'There is an added burden on the airlines nowadays. A lot of people come to Karachi from upcountry. You close down six trains at once and at the same time cannot control the flood of people; so as a consequence the entire load comes onto the airlines.' He says that the airlines are working overtime since then as they have to use bigger planes. 'Just yesterday we sent a plane carrying 441 passengers aboard a 468-seat jumbo. So you can imagine the amount of traffic we have to cope with.'

Eventually, load or no load, what has to happen, happens, he says. 'We are all in queue. It merely depends whose time finishes first.'

I remember him vividly from the first day of the Functional English class. His eyes smiling – a friendly smile that gave you a soothing effect. 'Sir, I am Bilal Jamaee and I am in your class. It is pleasure to see you.' I thanked him for his confidence in me. Soon, Bilal had become one of my dearest students.

Bilal was so different from others. He used to perform various tasks at the same time and never seemed tired. His eyes were smiling behind the spectacles, never tired and showing no indication of fatigue or displeasure due to any reason. It cannot be that he always enjoyed smooth sailing. No, his life was a constant struggle. But he took this struggle in his stride. Always smiling, never complaining.

He had studied Philosophy before joining the Department of Mass Communications (MC). Perhaps his training in the Philosophy Department taught him to accept the travails of life in a philosophical way. But it was not to allow him a deviation from the realities of life. He wanted to be transferred to the Mass Communications as he had the required marks – 70 per cent. He was denied this transfer as the seats were limited. He did nothing that could be termed as inappropriate for a student. He sought justice from the courts of law and he got in.

He was very punctual in class and made sure to seek permission from the chairperson and course in charge when he had to leave Karachi to attend parliamentary sessions in various cities at home or abroad. The Functional English class was very reactive and he was the star of the discussions. His knowledge of nearly every subject surprised me. He would offer his views in a gentle manner, never trying to force it through argument. He did it through proper and relevant information, argued with examples and presented his case in such a way that it became acceptable to the teacher and the class.

I once told him 'Bilal, you are in such a hurry to do things now. Why don't you put other things aside and get your Masters degree first?' He replied with conviction in his voice: 'Sir, I would get my degree and do these things as well. I put everything in its proper place. I do not ignore any part of my engagements.' This fact could not be truer. At the end of the semester, he obtained the second highest marks in my paper. It was astonishing.

It seems that it is only yesterday that he entered the examination hall in a hurry. Other students had already writing in their answer scripts. To my surprise he completed his paper before many others. His handwriting was neat and he wrote in a clean hand and expressed his views candidly. There no mincing of words or trying to conceal the lack of subject knowledge through majestic words. The answers were short but to the point and did not digress from the question that was being asked.

Bilal now rests in peace in a grave at the Karachi University cemetery. He loved his university and lies there. The Vice Chancellor Prof Pirzada Qasim honoured the wishes of the departed soul to have his last resting place at the university.