Unlawfully sacked PIA employee awaiting justice

“I want to celebrate this Eid with my daughters but I will never compromise on my decision to continue my protest against the injustice of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) administration until my last breath,” said Qaisar Jamshed, a blind sacked employee of PIA, who set up camp outside the National Press Club, to protest his sacking from PIA on October 28, 2004.
Jamshed, hailing from a small village in Jehlum’s tehsil Pind Daden Khan, served as a tug master operator (TMO) in PIA for several years before the conspiracies of his immediate boss, TGS Manager Sohail Quddus Raja, forced the administration to sack him in 2004. “Raja levelled false allegations against me, contending that I was under the influence of alcohol during duty-timings, due to which the tow-bar of the tug master got damaged,” Jamshed said, while talking to Pakistan Today.
He said the allegations against him were baseless and all medical reports supported that he was not inebriated during duty. Jamshed challenged his dismissal many times, but after a lapse of almost seven years, he has still not been able to get justice. Jamshed has two daughters who study at a government school in their village, and his wife is now the sole bread-earner of the family, earning Rupees 3,000 per month by teaching at a private school.
Eid will not be more than a routine day for Jamshed. This poor man’s family has lost all hope that the government will take notice of the injustice done to them, and are trying to convince Jamshed to return home to celebrate Eid with them – but Jamshed is still hoping for justice. “My daughters have asked me many a times to end the protest because justice in this country is only a theoretical concept. But I am pinning my hopes on the media and judiciary,” he said.
After the termination of his services he faced many crises and circumstances plunged him into severe depression. He was diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes and also lost his eye sight in 2007, he said. “Can the PIA management return my eye sight which was lost due to the circumstances following their high-handedness? This is a loss which can not be compensated by giving me even a billion rupees,” he said, adding that perhaps this was the reward of his services rendered to PIA.
“During my service, I always celebrated Eid with my family. Those were good days. In my current condition, such days cannot even be imagined,” he said. He added that it was very difficult to pass the days and nights under the open sky. “In winters, wild boars often came into my camp, while in the summers, mosquitoes have made life miserable,” he said, adding that he was destitute, and had no money to feed even himself.
Highlighting his performance at PIA, Jamshed said, “I was awarded 12 Appreciation Letters from superior officers of PIA, as well as Emirates Airline.”
Jamshed’s small camp has been visited by many politicians and ministers, but no one can bring him out of this camp. “Khursheed Shah, Farooq Sattar, Nargis Faiz and many other senior leaders visited my camp and made tall claims of providing me financial assistance and of ensuring my retirement with all benefits – but no one has fulfilled their promises,” he said.
He added that the so-called human right activists, including Farzana Bari, Rehana Hashmi, Tameer Mirza of Aurat Foundation had announced in front of the media that financial assistance would be provided to him, but he was still waiting for these activists to live up to their word.
He called upon Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to restore him to his position of employment and then retire him on medical grounds, so that his family could at least receive his retirement benefit.