When he became PM, in his wisdom Mian Nawaz Sharif decided to bring the CAA, the ASF and PIA along with the meteorology department under the Aviation division. He took charge of this new super-division and appointed Shujaat Azeem as his special assistant.
Azeem may have been a poor choice. Soon after his appointment, Azeem had to resign in July 2013 after a three-judge bench headed by chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry summoned him during a hearing to explain why in the light of Articles 93(1, 2) and 63 of the Constitution, he was occupying the sensitive post when he had been court-martialed (by the Pakistan Air Force) and was a dual national.
But in January 2014, Azeem was once again appointed to the position after the retirement of Justice Chaudhry. The brother of PML-N former senator Tariq Azeem, Shujaat Azeem’s appointment was seen as related to PIA’s privatisation and other matters of the national flag carrier.
These days Azeem is the king of aviation in Pakistan. Being a special assistant on aviation, the PIA, Civil Aviation Authority and Airport Security Force come under his control. This is an issue that has caused much heartburn. Previously, positions in CAA were filled by officers on deputation or retired officers on contract. Given that most of them had little or no commercial aviation experience, there were many issues that cropped up.
One would have expected prime minister Nawaz Sharif to have acted to improve the situation, not make it worse. CAA continues to be used by our rulers to oblige near and dear ones. Like the appointment of President Zardari’s brother in law in the previous government to a position or which he was neither suited nor capable. And this is just one of hundreds of such cases.
Today there is absolute confusion about how to run the aviation sector. The attack on the Karachi Airport should have been yet another wake-up call, but again nothing except for the transfer of the Karachi Airport manager was done.
Corruption and mismanagement are eating away at organisations like CAA and PIA. We are told that one reason why the fires at the Karachi Airport were not controlled in time was because the fire engines did not contain the right kind of chemicals. The contract for that was given at several crores but the contractor managed to line the right pockets and get away with his crime. Fire fighters remain poorly trained, say some, because the training they are supposed to receive is instead given to senior officials who availed the opportunity to travel to the US instead.
The project director for the Benazir Bhutto International Airport has been changed for the fifth time since September. One can only wonder why the management cannot find competent people from within the CAA, of which there are many. The Multan Airport project director is not an engineer and legal circles say that as a consultant he cannot get the position.
So where are the engineers? They are being appointed on management positions possibly to keep them away. That is not all. Despite a ban on recruitment, inductions are being reported in both PIA and CAA.
Recent promotions in CAA from 9 to 11 groups have also caused anger. Then there are reports coming in that construction concessions are being given in violation of PAPRA and other rules, without any tenders. If that is not enough, CAA is donating land to sister organizations without following proper procedure.
The International Civil Aviation Organization has in the past objected to how CAA continues to make ad-hoc appointments for its senior positions.
One would have expected prime minister Nawaz Sharif to give both CAA and PIA to professional managers. Instead he gave the job to the near and dear.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2014.
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The Aviation Czar has been appointed as payback for funding the private jet used in the election campaign. Conflict Of Interest is written all over, the Advisor owns. Ground Handling Agency, is a major partner in contract for construction of new Islamabad Airport, etc etc. PIA regularity and flight cancellation are its worst today, while CAA is incapable of performing its regulatory functions, because of wrong appointments. Corruption is patronised and those responsible for 2010-2012 PIA Haj ticket scam are back in power holding key post in marketing, and so are all the others who were involved and accused of kickbacks in procurement contracts
Please tell me more!!!!!!
It seems people are addicted to forgetting things... I don't see any difference between 90's politics and now..... The patterns and exhibition is different, objectives are the same... Lolz
I had very high hopes in PML-N after election that they will appoint true professionals on merit at top positions in Government owned entities. But I am now absolutely disappointed.Even after a passage of one year,the appoints have not been made. This government suffers from paralysis of thinking and decision making
"One would have expected prime minister Nawaz Sharif to give both CAA and PIA to professional managers. Instead he gave the job to the near and dear." Keep dreaming Mr Editor !!
Corrupt to the core government.
There are some people who will never learn from their past mistakes and Nawaz Sharif is one of them. In last general election, masses voted for PML (N) by looking at performance of Shabaz Sharif as the man delivers. On the other hand, Nawaz Sharif been goofi and has a hard time making any decisions. He has kept so many portfolios to himself as he doesn't trust cronies around him. And courts are not pushing him to fill empty slots at top of government either.
Nawaz Sharif's governance is definitely better than Zardari led government but still no comparison to Shabaz Sharif. Most of his ministers are flat useless and incompetent, and should have been fired long time ago. He should have initiated performance model like UAE to evaluate their performance but I guess he doesn't understand that word and thus not needed. In last general election, after looking at last PPP government's dismal performance people rejected that party. That should have been an eye opener for other political parties but I guess PML (n) still haven't understood that and changed its way to deliver.
This should be an eye opener for other political parties as well. For example, there is lot of rhetoric from PTI but still I have to see any plan from them to tackle country's issues. Talk is cheap, people want their issues addressed. They no longer believe on empty promises, they want to see action. And looking at PTI last one year's performance I am afraid to say that beside promises it doesn't have any roadmap to address country's problems.