SHC stops PIA CEO from working

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday stopped the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik from performing his functions as the airline’s chief executive officer.

A petition challenging Malik’s appointment as the CEO by Safdar Anjum, the general secretary of the airline's Senior Staff Association (SASA), was filed at the high court. The petition stated Malik did not fulfill the educational requirements of the post neither did he have any relevant experience for the job.

During proceedings of the case, the SHC two-member bench issued directives to stop the PIA CEO from performing his functions. The court also stopped the airline from transferring, hiring or firing employees. The high court also stopped the PIA from buying or selling assets. The bench said the national flag bearer could not sell assets worth over rupees one crore or make policies for the time being.

The SHC had issued a notice to the deputy attorney general to appear before the court on January 22 in relation to the case. Prior to joining the PIA, Malik was serving as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff. He is a graduate of the National Defence University (NDU) and qualified in Air Command and Staff Course from the US. Malik has served for more than 40 years in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) before he was appointed as the airline's chief executive officer. He was appointed as PIA chairman on October 11, 2018 by the federal government. On April 2, 2019, he was appointed the national flag carrier’s CEO.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court directed verification of degrees of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees and sought a report in this regard. A two-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard a case relating to the PIA employees’ educational degrees. The court summoned the chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC), MD Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as well as Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan on the next date of hearing.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted before the court that the PIA employees had got degrees from a private university in Azad Kashmir and alleged that they (employees) had not attended the classes. He further submitted that the employees got departmental promotion on the basis of these degrees.

The court observed that prima facie the award of said degrees seemed to be illegal adding that the PIA management must ensure that their employees had graduated from recognized educational institutions.