Fake degree costs Iqbal Bajwa his PIA job

KARACHI/LAHORE:

PIA has forced its deputy station manager in the UK, Iqbal Javed Bajwa, to resign from his position after it was discovered that he submitted a fake intermediate certificate at the time of his appointment 47 years ago—in 1977.

The national airline issued a show-cause notice to Bajwa on July 30 through its finance manager in Birmingham. Bajwa, who has long surpassed the age of superannuation according to Pakistani law, was initially reluctant to resign.

According to sources, PIA later applied pressure on Bajwa through his family, eventually compelling him to step down. Bajwa had joined PIA's Rawalpindi office in 1977 and obtained British citizenship in the late 1980s.

After acquiring citizenship, he changed his employment status with PIA to that of a British citizen. Under British law, an individual can continue working as long as they are healthy.

A PIA spokesperson confirmed that Bajwa, the deputy station manager of PIA in the UK, has resigned after it was proven that his intermediate certificate from the Lahore Board was fake.