PIA sacks five more pilots over fake licences

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Saturday it sacked 63 employees in last month on various charges, including fake pilot licences, fake educational credentials, embezzlement and dereliction of duty.

PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan said that the actions had been taken in accordance with the rules. He confirmed that among the 63 laid-off employees, 5 were captains, who were sacked over charges of having fake licences.

The PIA fired 28 employees over fake credentials, while 27 employees were sacked for being absent without notice. Two employees over fired on charges of embezzlement and one employee was fired for incompetence, according to officials.

Besides, the airlines demoted four employees for refusing to work, and held back increments to three employees for violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs). The spokesperson said rules of procedure were followed in the process of punishment, which would continue in PIA without any pressure.

Last month, the PIA had sacked 17 pilots for having 'dubious' flying licences on the order of the federal cabinet. They included 12 captains and five first officers. The sacking followed startling revelations by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

In June, Ghulam Sarwar Khan had told parliament that 262 pilots, out of total 860 in the country, had "suspicious flying licences" and would be grounded immediately. Later, PIA announced that it would ground a third of its 434 pilots.

Sarwar had said criminal proceedings would also be initiated against pilots with the alleged fake licences as the government could not allow anyone to put the lives of its citizens at risk. However, Palpa rejected the government's list of pilots with licences deemed dubious, saying that it was full of discrepancies.