An amendment draft has been sent to the Law and Justice Division, seeking separation of regulatory and commercial functions of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
This comes in the backdrop of a controversy over alleged fake licences of some Pakistani pilots that has led to the suspension of national flag carrier’s flights to different countries.
Prime Minister Imran Khan raised the issue of separating the regulatory and commercial functions of the CAA in a recent meeting of the cabinet.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Husain informed the cabinet that legal amendments for separating the regulatory and commercial functions of the CAA had been drafted and submitted to the Law and Justice Division for finalisation.
During the meeting, an inquiry report was also submitted about alleged fake licences of Pakistani pilots.
The cabinet was informed that a process was initiated to investigate the extent of violation, malpractices in conduct, issuance of flight crew licences for Commercial Pilot Licence and Airline Transport Pilot Licence.
Shortcomings were also highlighted in the CAA’s licensing branch, computer network team and overall licence management system.
Security breaches, flaws and loopholes in the CBT system alongside the limitations encountered by the inquiry committee during the investigation were also highlighted.
The inquiry also pointed out shortcomings in the data received from different airlines, especially the Pilot Rosters of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The cabinet was informed that millions of data lines were scrutinised and anomalies were identified using over 100 logic filters.
It was apprised of the findings of the inquiry report, underlining some of the discrepancies and anomalies, which came to the fore during the probe. As per data provided to the inquiry team, a total of 262 suspected cases were identified through a forensic audit.
The inquiry committee divided its recommendations into three areas - the role of delinquent officials of the CAA, administrative measures and technological measures.
It was also informed that during the scrutiny of pilot examination records, several discrepancies were unearthed by the CAA in the last quarter of 2018.
During discussion, the cabinet members emphasised the importance of the issue as lives of people were at risk. It was noted that all suspected pilot licences were allegedly issued between 2010 and 2018 during tenures of previous governments.
Cabinet members expressed satisfaction that the pilots, whose licences were found suspicious, had been grounded. However, it was emphasised that undue alarm should not be raised and the point must be unequivocally driven home, both domestically and internationally, that the rest of the pilots were clear.
The cabinet expressed the resolve to undertake reforms in the institutions and expose the organised mafia that was promoting corruption in the system. The drive would continue without fear and favour and the government had already embarked on reforming PIA and the CAA, they said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2020.
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