Policemen stand near the wreckage of 747 Pan Am airliner that exploded and crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland, 22 December 1988. AFP
Policemen stand near the wreckage of 747 Pan Am airliner that exploded and crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland, 22 December 1988. AFP

1988 - The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie

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Updated 19 April 2025
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1988 - The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie

1988 - The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie
  • The Lockerbie bombing, the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history, exposed ignored warnings and left lingering questions

JEDDAH: The king leads the Saudi delegation at a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Manama, there is a new government in Israel, and there is a crisis in Sudan; that Arab News front page could have been published on almost any day in recent years. 

Except the Saudi king was King Fahd, the Israeli prime minister was Yitzhak Shamir, and another report on the page tells you that this was Dec. 23, 1988. 

Two nights before, Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, via London and New York, had been blown up by a terrorist bomb as it crossed the border between England and Scotland. 

With a death toll of 270 — all 243 passengers and 16 crew, and 11 victims on the ground in Lockerbie, where the aircraft smashed into two residential streets at 800 kph — it remains the deadliest terror attack in UK history. 

Few events resonate all the way from a small Scottish border town to the White House. This was one such event. Lockerbie, with its 4,000 souls, joined that list of places in the UK and elsewhere — Aberfan, Munich, Srebrenica, My Lai — forever associated in the public consciousness with cruel and senseless loss of life. 

Scotland, my country, and Glasgow, my city, are not soft places, nor are the journalists they produce noted for emotional incontinence. But I saw tough, cynical, diamond-hard reporters return from Lockerbie numbed into glazed-eyed silence by the enormity of what they saw there, and full of respect and admiration for the quiet dignity and fortitude with which its townspeople bore their losses. 

How we wrote it




The jet crash headlined Arab News’ front page, detailing its devastation in the Scottish town.

Most of the plane’s passengers were American, and their relatives flew from the US to identify bodies and possessions. The people of Lockerbie temporarily buried their own grief to provide accommodation, food, comfort and solace to the bereaved. Bonds were forged that remain to this day. 

When a terrorist attack was confirmed, the perpetrator identified by Washington was inevitable. The US and the regime of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya had been in a state of undeclared war for years, and US airstrikes in April 1986, far from cowing Qaddafi, appeared only to have incensed him. 

US and UK investigators believed Libyan agents in Malta concealed a Semtex bomb inside a radio-cassette player and sent it in a suitcase to Frankfurt, where it was loaded aboard Pan Am Flight 103 and the fate of 270 people was sealed. 

With some narratives, paradoxically, it can make sense to work backwards — in this case from when Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer and former head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, died at his home in Tripoli on May 20, 2012, at the age of 60. 

More than 11 years earlier, in January 2001, three Scottish judges sitting at a special court in a former US air base in the Netherlands had sentenced Al-Megrahi to life imprisonment on 270 counts of murder for the Lockerbie bombing. He served more than eight years in two prisons in Scotland before the Scottish government released him on compassionate grounds when doctors said he had terminal cancer, and he returned to Libya in August 2009. Given three months to live, he lasted for nearly three years. 

Al-Megrahi was, and remains, the only person to be convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103; with his death, therefore, case closed? Well, no. 

The repercussions began soon after the disaster, and continue to this day. Pan Am, its security operations exposed as criminally useless, was bankrupt after a year and out of business after two. UN sanctions against Qaddafi and Libya reinforced their pariah status, and by February 2011 the country was embroiled in civil war. Qaddafi was captured and killed on Oct. 20, 2011. Al-Megrahi would outlive him by seven months. 

Key Dates

  • 1

    The US Federal Aviation Authority issues a bulletin warning of an anonymous tip that a Pan Am flight from Frankfurt will be blown up in the next two weeks.

  • 2

    Pan Am Flight 103 is destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie.

    Timeline Image Dec. 21, 1988

  • 3

    Alleged Libyan intelligence officers Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifa Fhimah are indicted for murder by US and Scottish authorities, but Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi refuses to allow their extradition for trial.

    Timeline Image Nov. 1991

  • 4

    After a nine-year standoff, Qaddafi agrees to allow Al-Megrahi and Fhimah to be tried under Scottish law in the Netherlands.

    Timeline Image May 3, 2000

  • 5

    Al-Megrahi is jailed for life. Fhimah is found not guilty.

  • 6

    Al-Megrahi loses an appeal against his conviction.

  • 7

    Qaddafi accepts Libya’s responsibility for the bombing and agrees to pay compensation to each of the victims’ families.

    Timeline Image April 29, 2003

  • 8

    Al-Megrahi, with terminal prostate cancer diagnosed, is released on compassionate grounds and returns to Libya.

    Timeline Image Aug. 20, 2009

  • 9

    Libyan civil war breaks out.

  • 10

    Libya’s former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil claims Qaddafi’s regime was implicated in the bombing.

    Timeline Image Feb. 23, 2011

  • 11

    Qaddafi is killed by rebel militia while trying to flee after the fall of Tripoli.

  • 12

    Al-Megrahi dies, aged 60.

  • 13

    The US announces the arrest of Abu Agila Masud, accused of constructing the bomb device that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103.

    Timeline Image Dec. 12, 2022

For the rest of us, airline and airport security have intensified on an apparently endless upward trajectory, and we can at least be grateful that an unaccompanied suitcase with a bomb inside can never again travel from Malta through two airports to the skies over Scotland. 

Perhaps most significantly, however, Lockerbie may have marked the beginning of a collapse in public trust in what our governments tell us. Authorities in the US and the UK have always insisted that Al-Megrahi was guilty, and that he acted alone or with a single accomplice. Few believe that. 

Major world events — the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the moon landings, the 9/11 attacks on America — attract conspiracy theorists like iron to a magnet, and Lockerbie is no exception. It was Iran; it was the Palestinians; it was Mossad; it was the Stasi; it was apartheid South Africa. 

What makes Lockerbie different is that one of the “theories” is almost certainly fact — but which one is anyone’s guess. One man more entitled than most to make that guess is Jim Swire, the softly spoken but determined English country doctor whose daughter Flora, 23, perished on board the plane. 

Swire, now in his late eighties, has devoted his life to finding the truth about Lockerbie. He met and questioned Al-Megrahi. He met and questioned Qaddafi. He has been a thorn in the side of UK and US authorities for more than 30 years, and he believes to this day that the case against Al-Megrahi was a travesty and a tissue of lies, to cover up some ghastly truth that may never be known. 

US President George H. W. Bush set up an aviation security commission in September 1989 to report on the plane’s sabotage, and British relatives of the victims met members of the commission at the US Embassy in London in February the following year. A member of Bush’s staff told one of the relatives: “Your government and ours know exactly what happened, but they are never going to tell.” 




Local resident Robert Love stands by one of the four engines of the ill-fated Pan Am 747 Jumbo jet that exploded and crashed on route to New-York. AFP

Perhaps not. But like a tenacious shoot from a seed buried deep beneath the soil, the truth has a way of reaching the light. 

This year the production of two television drama series, one focused on Swire’s dogged search for that truth, has brought the Lockerbie tragedy back into the public consciousness. Old theories are being revived. 

But this year could also see those theories refuted — or vindicated. 

On May 12, a man identified in court papers as Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, or simply Masud, will go on trial in Washington charged with having made the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103. 

The story of how Masud was identified, captured and extradited to the US — a country with which Libya has no extradition treaty — remains to be told. 

It also remains to be seen whether the trial of Masud will bring some kind of closure, or simply further distress, for the still-grieving families of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, and for the people of Lockerbie.

  • Ross Anderson, associate editor at Arab News, was on duty as a senior editor at Today newspaper in London on the night of the Lockerbie disaster.


Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’

Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’
Updated 3 min 42 sec ago
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Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’

Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’
  • The match was due to be played on Sunday, May 18, but will now take place on Friday, May 16
  • Monchi, president of football operations at Villa, took to X to say the change in match date “is not what we wanted” and represented “the least damaging alternative”

LONDON: Aston Villa officials have expressed their unhappiness with the Premier League for bringing forward a match against Tottenham by two days to help Spurs maximize preparation time for a potential appearance in the Europa League final.
The match was due to be played on Sunday, May 18, but will now take place on Friday, May 16 — five days before the title match in the Europa League in Bilbao, Spain.
Tottenham lead Bodø/Glimt 3-1 from the first leg of the semifinals, with the return match on Thursday in Norway.
The fixture rearrangement gives Villa — a team chasing Champions League qualification — two fewer days to prepare for Tottenham, which might also choose to play a stronger lineup now there is more time to recover for a possible European final.
It also will affect travel and logistical arrangements for some Villa fans.


Monchi, president of football operations at Villa, took to X to say the change in match date “is not what we wanted” and represented “the least damaging alternative.”
“Our fans didn’t deserve (it),” he wrote on the social network site, “but we tried hard to keep the match to protect the most important for us: YOU and OUR TEAM.”
Damian Vidagany, Villa director of football operations, went further in a long post on X, saying there was a “clear prejudice” toward Villa fans and bemoaning the fact that his club “didn’t feel this support” over their last two European campaigns — in the Europa Conference League last season and the Champions League this season.
“European football is not only demanding for English clubs just on the verge of the finals,” Vidagany wrote.
Villa are in seventh place in the Premier League and in a battle with five other teams to secure the remaining four Champions League qualification spots on offer. Liverpool, the already crowned champion, have already qualified.
While it is commonplace in other countries, there has been no precedent for the Premier League moving games to benefit clubs playing in Europe.
Manchester United are also in the Europa League semifinals and hold a 3-0 lead over Athletic Bilbao from the first leg in Spain last week.
United will be playing a Premier League game on Friday, May 16, too — against Chelsea. So United and Tottenham would have the same amount of preparation time should they both reach the Europa League final.


UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims

UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims
Updated 9 min 29 sec ago
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UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims

UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims
  • The move follows the ruling Labour Party’s poor performance in last week’s local elections
  • Of 108,000 asylum claims in Britain last year, 16,000 were from people with student visas

LONDON: The British government may restrict visa applications from students living in countries that are considered most likely to claim asylum in a move designed to bring down annual net migration, a government official said.
The move comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was punished in local elections in England last week by voters angry over issues, including illegal immigration.
The government is expected next week to publish a policy document, known as a white paper, which will set out how the government plans to reduce net migration, which reached 728,000 people in the year to June last year.
“Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system,” the Home Office said in a statement.
High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political conversation and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Out of the 108,000 people who claimed asylum in Britain last year, 16,000 had student visas, government data shows. The government does not provide a breakdown of the nationalities of those who had student visas, who went on to claim asylum.
But the government said people from Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka were the most likely to claim asylum in Britain after arriving on a work, student, or a visitor visa.
In the aftermath of the party’s poor local election results last week, some Labour members of parliament urged the government to do more to take a more decisive approach on issues such as bringing down net migration.
Jo White, who represents a group of lawmakers in previously Labour heartlands known as the “Red Wall,” said the government should stop “pussyfooting around.”


Pakistan inaugurates national intelligence, threat assessment center amid India tensions

Pakistan inaugurates national intelligence, threat assessment center amid India tensions
Updated 30 min 32 sec ago
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Pakistan inaugurates national intelligence, threat assessment center amid India tensions

Pakistan inaugurates national intelligence, threat assessment center amid India tensions
  • Pakistan has already been battling twin insurgencies and ties between Islamabad and New Delhi have recently plummeted to new lows over an attack in Kashmir
  • The new platform will coordinate Pakistan’s counterterrorism strategy by leveraging the “full spectrum” of institutional capabilities, PM Sharif office says

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Center (NIFTAC) Headquarters, Sharif’s office said, amid heightened tensions with India.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth” and there have been fears that India may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan. The Pakistan military has conducted two missile tests since the standoff, with Islamabad saying it had “credible intelligence” that India was planning to attack Pakistan.
NIFTAC integrates over 50 federal and provincial departments and agencies into a unified intelligence and threat management architecture supported by a centralized national database. At the sub-national level, it is linked to six provincial intelligence and threat assessment hubs, including those in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to ensure seamless coordination between the federation and provinces.
“This integrated framework is designed to harmonize intelligence gathering, analysis, and operational responses across multiple domains,” Sharif’s office said. “By leveraging the full spectrum of institutional capabilities, NIFTAC will enhance national preparedness, optimize resource utilization, and enable a coherent and timely counterterrorism response.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militancy in its northwest by religiously motivated militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban. The South Asian country has also been faced with a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatists in its southwest, which has intensified in recent months.
On Tuesday, seven Pakistani army soldiers were killed when their vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device in the southwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan’s military said in a statement.
Sharif was accompanied by federal ministers and services chiefs at Tuesday’s inauguration of the NIFTAC headquarters, which will coordinate Pakistan’s national counterterrorism strategy. He commended all stakeholders involved in operationalizing this vital capability and described NIFTAC as a quintessential national platform for collaborative threat assessment and response.
“Dismantling the nexus between terrorism, illicit networks, and external sponsorship requires robust and efficient institutional mechanisms,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
“[NIFTAC] will play a pivotal role in uprooting terrorism and its support structures from the country.”


YouTube sets sights on enhancing Saudi user experience with shift from smartphones to TV

YouTube sets sights on enhancing Saudi user experience with shift from smartphones to TV
Updated 29 min 9 sec ago
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YouTube sets sights on enhancing Saudi user experience with shift from smartphones to TV

YouTube sets sights on enhancing Saudi user experience with shift from smartphones to TV
  • Pedro Pina took reporters back in time with a video of early meetings between the YouTube co-founders

ZURICH/RIYADH: YouTube is setting its sights on Saudi Arabia, aiming to shift video consumption from smartphones to television and leveraging the Kingdom’s affinity for the platform. 

As it celebrates its 20th anniversary, the platform envisions a new era for the region, positioning YouTubers like Noor Stars as the next Hollywood stars. Additionally, YouTube is exploring artificial intelligence-enhanced experiences, including dubbing and other innovative features, to engage users on the big screen. 

Pedro Pina, vice president of YouTube in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told Arab News: “Whether you are talking about Egypt or Saudi Arabia, we want to be the zeitgeist of culture; we want to be the future of TV. 

“As these countries pick up steam in terms of penetration in connectivity, it will happen.” 

According to a study released by YouTube’s internal data, the platform reaches more than 12 million people in Saudi Arabia, over 2.5 million in the UAE, and 600,000 in Qatar over the age of 18 via connected TV.  

Saudi Arabia has developed a significant affinity for YouTube, with 95.8 percent of the population using the platform. As YouTube looks to shift viewing from smartphones to television, it aims to enhance the way content is experienced by audiences in Saudi Arabia. 

TV is now the primary device for YouTube viewing in the US, and viewers in the Middle East are shifting their viewing preferences from the smartphone to the TV. 

During a two-day press gathering to mark YouTube’s anniversary, hosted in Zurich, the platform’s executives gathered to reflect on its growth since its inception in 2005, while highlighting future features and the vision for the region. 

Executives who spoke about the evolution and progression of YouTube included Pina; Amjad Hanif, vice president of product management for YouTube creator products; Roya Zeitoune, head of YouTube’s culture and trends for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Geoff van der Meer, vice president of engineering. 

Pina took reporters back in time with a video of early meetings between the YouTube co-founders, showing them discussing the future of the platform. 

He highlighted that between the co-founders, “there were a lot of conversations about where the site was going to be … and what they were going to do about the ability of uploading videos.” 

As YouTube looks to the future, it has four areas of focus: remaining the epicenter of culture, creators becoming the startups of Hollywood, YouTube becoming the new television, and AI being implemented to enhance the experience for viewers and creators. 

“Creators are continuing to be the new startups. Noor Stars is one of the creators who is incredibly successful in the region,” Pina said, adding that she represents one of the success stories in YouTube’s mission: “Give everyone a voice and show them the world. This has been our goal since we began.”

Pina highlighted the strong engagement YouTube receives from viewers across the Middle East, citing the region’s diverse cultures and varied realities. 

When asked what new features can be expected in the region, Pina said: “The solutions will look and feel different in each country (in the Middle East) because they are in different levels of development. 

“For example, the penetration of connected TVs is different in one type of country from another, and therefore the future of TV viewing for creators will also feel different from other regions.”

Among the topics executives discussed was podcasting. With podcasting becoming increasingly mainstream, Pina highlighted YouTube’s newly released statistic: Over 1 billion people interact with podcast content on YouTube each month, and those viewers are watching over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on their TVs. 

The rise of podcasting as a mainstream media format is not unexpected. As of now, the most viewed podcast episode on YouTube comes from Saudi Arabia’s Thmanyah, a sister publication of Arab News under SRMG, with 140 million views. 

Another topic discussed was the YouTube Partner Program, which allows creators to have sustainable revenue and build a business while pursuing their passions through content creation. 

According to YouTube’s internal data, in Saudi Arabia, the number of YouTube channels making seven figures or more in Saudi riyals is up 40 percent year on year. And in the UAE, the number of YouTube channels making seven figures or more in SR is up 15 percent year on year.

Hanif said that there are currently 3 million YouTubers in the partner program, and more than half a million of them started their channel over a decade ago. 

Hanif added: “That speaks to the sustainability and the thoughtfulness we put into the program to make sure they are able to build a business this year, and YPP gives them the opportunity to continue to build and expand that business.” 

The first YouTube video was uploaded on April 23, 2005, by Jawed Karim, one of the three co-founders of the platform. The video was titled “Me at the Zoo.” Since then, YouTube has grown exponentially, with over 20 billion videos uploaded as of April 2025. 


Bears dominate Pakistan stocks as risk-averse investors wary of India standoff fallout

Bears dominate Pakistan stocks as risk-averse investors wary of India standoff fallout
Updated 17 min 50 sec ago
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Bears dominate Pakistan stocks as risk-averse investors wary of India standoff fallout

Bears dominate Pakistan stocks as risk-averse investors wary of India standoff fallout
  • Benchmark index surged to intraday high of 990 point but later succumbed to selling pressure, hitting an intraday low of 683 points
  • Moody’s on Monday warned that India-Pakistan standoff could set back Islamabad’s economic reforms as world powers called for calm

KARACHI: Pakistan’s stocks lost more than 500 points on Tuesday after early morning gains as risk-averse investors remained wary of the country’s ongoing tensions with nuclear-armed neighbor India, analysts said. 

The benchmark KSE-100 Index rose as much as one percent or 900 points after trading kicked off at the bourse in the morning, following a surprise move by the central bank on Monday to slash the key policy rate by 100 basis points 11 percent to spur growth amid challenges posed by US trade tariffs and geopolitical tensions with archrival India.

However, as the day progressed, profit-taking emerged across key sectors, gradually eroding the morning gains. The index ultimately succumbed to selling pressure, hitting an intraday low of 683 points and closing the session at 113,568 level, down by 533 points or 0.47 percent.

“Index remained bullish in intraday trade following the State Bank of Pakistan’s 100 basis points policy rate cut [on Monday],” Najeeb Ahmed Khan Warsi, head of online trading at Foundation Securities Ltd., told Arab News in Karachi, adding that the rate cut had lifted investor sentiment and triggered buying across key sectors such as oil, cement, and energy. 

Market participants were optimistic about lower financing costs and improved earnings potential under a more accommodative monetary policy stance, Warsi added.

At 11 percent, the interest rate is at its lowest since December 2021, creating further room for the economy to expand amid easing inflation.

Shankar Talreja, director of research at brokerage firm Topline Securities Ltd., said the market was positive in the morning primarily on the back of reports that banks would release payments to settle energy sector debt, also called circular debt.

Energy scrips like Pakistan State Oil, Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd. and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. rallied more than two percent in daily trade “on the hope of payment disbursement from the banking sector to settle the Rs1.2 trillion circular debt,” said Muhammad Rizwan, director brokerage at Chase Securities Pakistan, in a note to clients.

Talreja said there was a solid ground for the central bank to cut borrowing costs. 

“However, the market was uncertain earlier on the timings just due to geopolitical tensions,” he said in a text message to Arab News.

But Tuesday’s early morning rally proved short-lived as investors started selling their shareholdings to book profits, dragging the benchmark index 0.5 percent to close at 113,568 points.

Cement stocks bore the brunt of profit-taking and dropped as much as three percent.

“Indo-Pak issues (are) clouding the gains actually,” Talreja said. 

“Despite an unexpected cut in the monetary policy statement, investors preferred to book gains in PSX as border tensions are still at a high level,” said Rizwan of Chase Securities.

Warsi said profit-taking, regional uncertainty with India and caution ahead of the new federal budget for FY26 were weighing on investor sentiment despite a supportive monetary stance.

Pakistan is expected to announce its budget for 2025-26 next month. 

On Monday, Moody’s said the standoff with India could hurt Pakistan’s $350 billion economy, which is on a path to recovery after securing a $7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund last year and staving off a default threat.

“Sustained escalation in tensions with India would likely weigh on Pakistan’s growth and hamper the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation, setting back Pakistan’s progress in achieving macroeconomic stability,” Moody’s said.

“A persistent increase in tensions could also impair Pakistan’s access to external financing and pressure its foreign-exchange reserves,” it added.

The report comes two days after Reuters reported that India has asked the IMF to review its loans to Pakistan.

India’s economy is not expected to see major disruptions since it has “minimal economic relations” with Pakistan — although higher defense spending could weigh on New Delhi’s fiscal strength and slow fiscal consolidation, Moody’s added.

Pakistan on Tuesday also accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan’s control according to the now suspended Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. 

The stoppage of water is likely to negatively impact Pakistan’s agriculture, which contributes more than 20 percent to gross domestic product.