SC terms PIA performance report unsatisfactory

CJ says professionals are required to run the airline

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court said on Monday that the performance report of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was unsatisfactory and observed that professionals were required to run the national flag carrier, as its debt had soared to billions of rupees.

The matter came up during the hearing of the case of appointment of PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik by a three-member special bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad and including Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

During the proceedings, Naeem Bukhari represented Malik. Bukhari informed the court that the PIA could not fly to England. Justice Ahsan said that the aviation minister had said in parliament that the pilots’ licences were fake.

The chief justice asked about how many people were recruited to the airlines. Malik said that no-one was employed, rather 2,000 employees were sacked. On that the chief justice stopped Malik from addressing the court directly, saying that his lawyer was present and he would speak.

The chief justice termed the PIA performance report unsatisfactory, saying that there was no improvement in the national carrier. He also said that the debt of billions of rupees on the PIA was also because of its management. He added that professionals were needed to run the PIA.

Justice Ahsan said that the PIA had already gone down even before the emergence of coronavirus in the country. Justice Bandial said that first and foremost, the PIA should get the European ban lifted but it did not say what it would do in this regard.

Bukhari requested the court to give some time to improve the situation. The court granted Bukhari’s request. The hearing was adjourned till January.