During the last 20 years, PIA has become an unsolved national issue
KURRAM AGENCY: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is in crisis, again. Corruption, scandals, smuggling and mismanagement in its operations are the typical stories in the media about it. I vividly recall an article in one of our English daily published in 1993 about the losses faced by our national carrier. The author had mentioned that according to PIA rules and regulations, its directors must be seven in number but Nawaz Sharif had appointed 11. Then again in 1993, the Nawaz government issued licences to 12 private airlines. As a result, the financial saga of PIA unfolded.
During the last 20 years, PIA has become an unsolved national issue and during this period each successive government remained indifferent to this crucial national issue. Now the airline has decided to re-design its logo that requires a big budget. However, it is shameful that PIA prefers a national animal as its new logo instead of our national flag. So far, PIA has changed the design of its staff uniform many times. In the past, the management always preferred a uniform that was prepared by British, French and Italian fashion designers instead of by locally available untrained professionals. Moreover, the airline also never advertises vacant posts — an act of omission it is still committing. Considering the situation, PIA, the PTCL and the OGDCL should be privatised instead of re-organising these national assets.
Mukhtar Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2018.
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