PIA pilots’ sacking

It took PIA more than 18 years to find that six pilots working for decades submitted fake matriculation or intermediate degrees at the time of appointment, which should explain why they have never wanted to, or were unable to plug pilferage of billions in revenues. This is what was expected, when a high school drop-out crony, accused of gross irregularities in recruitments by AVM Mushaf Mir, was nominated as MD and was instrumental in incurring huge losses to tune of Rs100 billion in past four years. While aviation industry the world over has raised the induction level minimal qualifications for pilots, PIA continues to cater to mere intermediate pass. It is an airline, where a former director accused of financial irregularities in Haj/Umra operation, was shown dancing with a whisky glass balanced on his head, only to be rewarded by being promoted as DMD. Instead of the airline being run as service industry, serving its clients, it became an organization dedicated to provide surplus employment to unqualified children of either its employees, or members of ruling elite. PIA has also become a nursery for dual nationality holding pilots to seek employment, gain experience and then seek jobs in foreign airlines that prefer any nationality other than a Pakistani.
It is an airline where during the past four years surplus vacancies were created and then sold to highest bidders. From an airline of repute, it has become a loss making bloated white elephant, because the quality of its human resources deteriorated and there was no accountability for those involved in financial, administrative or even criminal indiscipline. What can you expect from an airline, where sales staff recruited in Group 3, get fake degrees from an unrecognised university located in AJK and yet get promoted as officers, while foreign postings are either sold to highest bidder, or given to those with political recommendations. Dismissed employees caught and charged for theft at Dubai DFS or at other foreign stations while on duty, were not only reinstated, but given their seniority and rewarded with foreign postings. PIA has been reduced to its despicable present state by successive governments, both civil and military, who have abused it to the hilt.
RASHID ORAKZAI
Texas, USA