‘All culprits not included’ in fake pilots case probe

The FIA officials said some pilots had admitted during an inquiry that they had paid bribes to pass in the exams

ISLAMABAD:

A subcommittee of the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation on Thursday expressed concerns over restrictions on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in different countries following the issue of fake licences of pilots and other reasons.

The subcommittee, which met with Senator Saleem Mandviwalla in the chair, discussed the issue of suspected fake licences of the Pakistani pilots. “Our national airline is facing restrictions in various countries. Because of flight cancellations, the PIA is incurring losses of up to Rs1 billion,” he said.

During the meeting, Mandviwalla asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) why the pilots were included in the first information reports (FIRs).

The FIA officials replied that some of the pilots had admitted during an inquiry that they had paid bribes to pass in the exams.

The international media sensationalised the matter, which compelled the government to hand over the matter to the FIA, they added.

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However, the chair observed that similar cases also occurred in India, but were resolved without external pressure.

The Aviation Division secretary told the subcommittee that if the FIA felt that its investigation was correct, legal action would be taken in accordance with the law.

The chair also raised objection over dismissed officers conducting the investigations.

The FIA officials revealed that all of the culprits were not included in the case. They added that the main culprit was accused of taking bribes from the pilots during professional exams.

Senator Mandviwalla said that of 262, 180 pilots had been reinstated. He added that the PIA was incurring losses ranging from Rs700 million to Rs1 billion due to flight cancellations. The subcommittee decided to postpone the matter until after a court hearing on the matter on June 6.