Over the years, the CAA has become an organisation hostage to political cronies, nepotism and mediocrity
KARACHI: This is apropos Mukhtar Ahmed’s letter titled “Mayhem in CAA”. Evidence of the mayhem at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) could be witnessed when the Karachi Airport was subjected to a terrorist attack. The area around the periphery of this sensitive zone is in occupation of land and criminal mafia. Moreover, there are over 4,000 ghost employees in the CAA, involved in nefarious criminal activities. Over the years, the CAA’s regulatory functions have deteriorated, and it has become an organisation hostage to political cronies, nepotism and mediocrity. The imposition of sanctions by the European Union on PIA, an airline regulated by the CAA, was a consequence of the authority’s failure to regulate the national carrier effectively. Pakistan’s aviation industry has suffered a lot because of politicisation in the CAA. Its failure to perform its regulatory duty, and threats, intimidation and a culture of corruption and mediocrity dominate its corridors.
Between 2010 and 2012, the Karachi Airport’s CAA executives were involved in allowing non-scheduled airlines to land, park and depart from the airport, with no records or documentation. Billions earned in landing fee were pocketed by these executives. Till today, nobody has been punished for this nor has the pilfered money been recovered. Needless to point out, there are grave dangers — in the form of both security and logistical difficulties — inherent in such criminal activities. On top of it all, many kilogrammes of undeclared, unchecked, dangerous cargo, carried by these aircraft and their crew, entered this city without any documentation.
As it is, Karachi’s infrastructure has collapsed, its population is expanding, with the criminal economy — extortions, kidnappings for ransom — posing a threat to lives of peaceful citizens. It is time that some federally-controlled state corporations, with thousands of employees from upcountry were relocated to Islamabad, so as to provide some breathing space to this already over-congested city.
Rahat Siddiqi
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2015.
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