Former Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) managing director Arif Ali Khan Abbasi has demanded a raise in pension of the national airline’s retired employees from the current 32 percent to 50 percent, according to rules.
Speaking at the second annual gathering of Pakistan International Airlines Retired Employees Association (PIAREA), he said the pensions of the retired employees should be increased every year in line with the salary increase of the regular employees, according to the Admin Order of the national flag carrier. Speaking on the occasion, PIAREA President Tahir Hassan offered the services of all retired employees of the PIA to help the airline out of the current crisis while the association’s secretary general Younus Kakakhel vowed to foil any conspiracy to ruin the PIA. At the conference, PIAREA-Lahore President alleged that the PIA’s Pension Trust Fund for retired employees was involved in the financial embezzlement of Rs 35 billion.
“Around Rs 5 billion were also taken out for miscellaneous works, which is illegal and should be given to the retired employees as it is their money,” he said. Flight Engineers National Association President Kamran Masood, former Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association’s president Captain Felex among other PIAREA officer bearers, including Saeed Ahmed, Abdul Ghafoor Bangash, Jamshed Rasool Mallhi, Mohammad Shafeeq, Mohammad Ashraf and Shamsul Hasan also attended the annual gathering.
