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Ex-PAF chief takes over reins as new PIA MD
Rao Qamar takes over as PIA managing director. Nadeem Khan Yousafzai reassigned as DG CAA.
Being a captain, Yousafzai regularly takes flights both on domestic and international routes. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Nadeem Khan Yousafzai, Managing Director of Pakistan International Airlines and a serving pilot, was reappointed on Saturday as Director General of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), television channels reported.
Yousafzai has replaced current CAA DG Air Marshal (retd) Khalid Chaudhry.
CAA spokesman could not confirm the appointment immediately while the new DG could not be reached for comments.
PIA spokesman also could not confirm the development, saying no notification had been issued because of Saturday being an official holiday.
Meanwhile, according to PPI, former Pakistan Air Force chief Rao Qamar Suleman was appointed Managing Director of PIA, Radio Pakistan reported.
Yousafzai, who was appointed managing director of cash-strapped PIA in February 2011, has also headed CAA for some time in the past.
However, his appointment has raised questions about impartiality of the regulator. CAA has had a thorny relationship with PIA considering the airline’s poor maintenance track record and recurring engineering faults.
Former CAA DG Junaid Amin commented that an operator could never be the regulator. “This is absolutely wrong. CAA checks pilots and deals with aircraft maintenance. It often penalises the airline. With a PIA man at the top, it won’t be easy for CAA now.”
Being a captain, Yousafzai regularly takes flights both on domestic and international routes. It is not clear if he will continue to do that as CAA DG. But during his last tenure in CAA in 2010, he kept flying planes.
Amin said it would be challenging for Yousafzai to remain impartial when it came to grounding of old and faulty PIA aircraft. “The 737s are in bad shape. We had grounded them earlier because of technical problems.”
Airport managers have powers of judicial magistrate, allowing them authority to restrict the pilot who is sick or under the influence of alcohol, he said. “An unfit pilot can be a serious safety hazard. Who will dare stop a sitting CAA DG?”
Correction: An earlier version of the story misspelt “reins” as “reigns” in the headline. The error is regretted.
Reader Comments (47)
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Why do military men get two jobs one after the other while many civilians can’t get even one job?
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Isn’t there any civilian capable of running PIA? Recommend
Being ex-Airforce is no disqualification in itself. Not that I am comparing the two but remember the legendary Nur Khan was also from the Airforce.
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@Vaqar. You know how well he ran PAF that he couldn’t detect Unidentified Helicopters sitting next to PMA for 40 minutes. Now he is going to run PIA just like that. Why can’t he just retire and play golf and leave Pakistan alone.
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Why not a civilian with experience in managing a civilian staff? Our country will never change until we ask these retired Generals to sit at home.
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ET! Mind your spelling. The headline should be “Take over reins” and not “take over reigns”
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Running and airline requires broad knowledge of operations, finance, and business strategy. What these military men bring on the table ? ? All the top airlines in the world are run by businessmen for a reason. For that matter every business needs to be run by a business person not an ex military person.
This is shame ! If Pakistan really wants to improve operations, get the right people. Get some one from western world who has ran an Airline before. Results will speak for itself.
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From now on it is unpatriotic to criticize PIA. As an ex-military official who has given many sacrifices and “deserves” to be appointed MD it will be shameful for anyone to criticize the organization he heads. If they are any complaints against PIA, direct it to the civilians before him! Hmph!
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This article is confusing. Firstly Yousafzai is appointed DG CAA, which is fine. But has he been relieved of his duties as MD PIA ? Next article states the ex-PAF chief has been appointed PIA MD. In the same breath, there is talk about lack of oversight as DG CAA and MD PIA are the same person. So which news is correct ?
Whatever the case, I refuse to fly PIA any more.
And why is it that we always need ex-PAF people to run the organization ?
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I remember PIA well and I was working for PIA when Nur Khan was heading the airline. I did not find anything extraordinary in him. He ran PIA as Airforce. Running business requires teamwork and a team consists right from the MD to cleaners which I did not and do not find in the airline.
We need someone who can instill the pride of ownership in the workers and this can be done by reaching out to the lowest level of the staff and not sitting in the airconditioned office.
I was sacked from the Airline in the 80′s by Moulvi Zia-ul-Haq as I was opposed to the closed door policy of the high and mighty and used to speak out. For the information of the readers I was just a technician in the airline.
I had travelled a lot and associated with people in business and believed we should have the right to ask questions and the bosses must be approachable to everybody. This can also undermine the influence of the Unions.
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The Arm Forces men get these jobs due to their high ethical standared and loyalty towards their nation. Their training teaches them loyalty, hardwork and integrity. Pakistan has had bad experience with civilian leadership because they are not held to the same high standards as military personnel.
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Will Rao be able to do a Nur Khan and rescue PIA from the depths that the current Government has put it in?
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No surprises here, Pakistan armed forces own the country, including PIA
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Commercial airlines is a different business than Air Force management. They require commercial versus military skills. This just wont work, sorry to disappoint those who think it will. Had that been the case, all airlines would be hiring these men for a CEO slot. The fact that they don’t should be telling. If PIA were to hire ex-British Airways, Virgin or Qantas CEO, they would prove better managers possessing the right skills, be fiercely independent in running and turning around a loss making airline. This is another nail in PIA’s coffin.
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why dont we get rid of this white elephant which costs tax payers billions each year? the money used to subsidise pia can be well spent on development activities.
it is not a government’s business to run a business and dont get me started on unqualified generals getting lucrative civilian jobs.
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We should have some professional bankers heading these institutions.
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@Q:
Do Armed Forces men come from a different planet than the rest of us? Where is the accountability to prove they are what you say they are? The air force chief in question himself had the unfortunate incidents of Abbotabad and Mehran base under his watch. Where is the high standard?
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@Usman:
I don’t know. Would experience of running marriage hall on the base help?
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What a country. The man who failed even to know the intruders in Abbotabad leave alone the response (three minutes we have been hearing since childhood) has been rewarded with a lucrative post after that he is supposed to be retired.
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@Umer: They stepped into the shoes of the british masters. We still remained subjects.
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If an unfit pilot is a safety hazard for the airplane, what about an unfit president and unfit PM being hazard for the country!Recommend
@Umer:
That’s a good one, of running a marriage hall on the Base.
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@adeel759:
Good one.
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@Fauj takes all:
You are right.
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@Sharafat:
I would drink to that.
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Let’s hope Rao Qamar is not a crook and changes things for the better at PIA.
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Wah re Wah! Milk the country while serving and milk even more after retiring! Although, I have to admit that armed forceshave the ‘most’ experience in running the business!
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I will request the general masses to get up by staging demonstrations against this incapable leadership in the shape of Zardari and Gillani who r making these blunders as how come these retired persons r good for organisations like PIA when they were not good for country defence.Recommend
Now PIA is going to get screwed for sure. This guy has seriously no vision and it is very evident from the kind of culture he generated in PAF.. The response of PAF in salala and abotabad operation is an evidence to this. Only reason which i see is that he is known to Yousaf Reza through his brother as both were class fellows. So, in one way or other there are class fellows and friends of leaders everywhere. If anyone disagrees with me then go and interview him. You’ll know what i am talking about.
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Lets hope for the best. if he doesn’t do well, then we should criticize but not at this stage. lets be optimistic as well, sometimes.
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PIA is a business … and should be controlled by an experienced business man … not a MILITARY MAN , who does not know about business … Recommend
The change for PIA was expected as true leadership is mandatrory in such a dire time. Let’s pray it end with happy moments
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Go and see in Dha/AskarI schemes how much these forces people r spending on houses from wher they earned this money wedont trust them
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Why cant PIA just get get a professional Airline head? from Pakistan or abroad. we have stupid IAS officers running public sector units in india and they roger it too. This culture of Babu- Fauji masquerading as businessmen in India Pakistan has to go
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Atleast we now know who to blame if PIA goes down, the Army!
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@Ammar:
Hope didn’t help in 1971.
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agreed with umar and hafeez. This country has witnessed many retired top brass heading civilian set up at a time they were to lead retiring life – exception was GENERAL A>WAHEED (R), we salute him.
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Its official: PIA is now PAF.
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Guys, please get out of civilian/army mentality. These army men are also Pakistani. I beleive the only criteria we should have now is to bring people who are not corrupt. Atleast the new chief has not corruption cases or immunity from cases as our leaders have.
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Sad we have learned NOTHING from past failed experiences & experiments! Another Fauji to run a purely commercial organization.
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Now foriegn Fighter manufacturing companies can offer their fighters for sale to PIA.
They come with a two seat version one for the pilt and other for the passenger also solves the security problem of the country as at a single point of time atleast 100 PIA jets will be on air.
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When the government is corrupt and insincere it matters not who runs PIA.
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Brother Aamer
Is running PAF & PIA same?
Name any country on this planet where air force chief has been apppointed the head of a commercial airline?
Do you think the honorable MD of PIA can give his inputs on the most important document of a commercial organizatrion called “Marketing Plan”?
Will he be able to read & understand profit & loss statements?
Can he be able to identify what are assets & liabilities in accounting terms?
List continues but please answer above questions first.
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Everyone complains how badly PIA is run and that it is causing a huge loss to the taxpayers and government. But we always forget that PIA is under the Defence Ministry and run by ex-PAF and Army officers. So its no suprise that its so badly run.
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PIA is bound to be doomed … a PAF officer, and that too a pilot, does not even know the ABC of running a purely commercial organization (PIA) … may God help us !!!
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@Aamer:
my friend … there are many non-corrupt civilians out there … why not appoint one of them as the head of PIA ?
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Does he know that in PIA the accounts do get audited and TI is also there.
Does he know that passengers pay for their tickets and they have choice to fly other airlines.
Does he know that there is a marketing department
Hmm also PIA planes have to pay airport landing,parking charges and they have to pay for their fuel on which custom duty is paid
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