Mari Indus East Airstrip

The closure is strongly linked to the indefinite suspension of the controversial Kalabagh Dam project. The airstrip was primarily a logistical and survey support facility for this massive engineering project. When the dam project was shelved due to intense political opposition from lower riparian provinces, the airstrip became redundant and was no longer maintained.

The site is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery clearly shows the faint outline of a single dirt and gravel runway, which is now unmaintained, partially overgrown with scrub vegetation, and shows signs of surface erosion. There is no remaining airport infrastructure, such as hangars, a terminal, or air traffic control facilities. The surrounding land is arid and is not being used for any significant agricultural or industrial purpose.

Mari Indus East Airstrip was a basic, unpaved airfield whose primary significance was its role in the preliminary stages of the proposed Kalabagh Dam on the Indus River during the 1970s and 1980s. It handled light aircraft carrying engineers, surveyors, government officials, and equipment for site investigation and aerial surveys. It may have also briefly served other governmental or industrial interests in the region, such as the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) activities near Chashma, before the dedicated Chashma Airport (OPCI) was fully established. The identifier PK-0008 is an unofficial code found in third-party aviation databases (e.g., for flight simulators) and is not a formal ICAO designation, which for Pakistan begins with 'OP'.

There are no known or credible plans to reopen the Mari Indus East Airstrip. Its potential revival is entirely contingent on the resurrection of the Kalabagh Dam project, which remains politically unfeasible and highly controversial in Pakistan. With other established airfields in the wider region, including Mianwali Air Base (OPMI) for military use and Chashma Airport (OPCI) for strategic purposes, there is no independent economic or logistical justification for rehabilitating this small, remote airstrip.