In April 2008, Pamir Airways was taken over by a group of Afghan businessmen led by Sherkhan Farnood, the president of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries and former chairman of Kabul Bank, who subsequently became chairman of the airline. Following the investment, Pamir Airways received a loan for $98 million from Kabul Bank, which was later exposed as one having indescribably poor lending standards (e.g. little to no interest required, no collateral required and repayment essentially optional).[2] An effort was made to re-organize the Pamir assets, including its aging fleet of grounded planes, which could not be sold at high enough prices to reclaim the funds, though.[2] As a consequence, the license of the airline was withdrawn, officially due to the poor safety record, on 19 March 2011.[3][4]
During the Hajj season, Pamir Airways played a major role in taking Afghan pilgrims to Saudi Arabia (9,000 in 2004 and 15,000 in 2005).[citation needed]
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