All it took for PIA to rise from shambles to an airline of repute, winning international acclaim and recognition was the will of a government headed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to appoint men with integrity namely Rafique Saigol and Nur Khan, giving them a freehand without political interference and recruitment policy based solely on merit, with a powerful independent board of directors, transparency and compliance with management ethics like conflict of interest etc.
By the time Nur Khan left PIA, it was considered among the best in Asia Pacific. The past three decades have witnessed PIA’s decline from an airline dedicated to serving its clients to an organisation reduced to serving as an employment provider by every political and military government, with procurement deals and aircraft inductions tainted with allegations of gross financial impropriety and executive corridor dominated by corrupt undisciplined mediocrity. With choice of senior executives like former director stores, later director marketing and DMD whose sole experience was as sales manager in a small departmental store, prior to serving as clearing agent, to high school graduate cronies nominated as MD, inspite of serious allegations of administrative and financial irregularities, PIA’s fate was doomed.
When corruption, lack of educational qualifications and integrity are not considered as taboo, the rot that set in was a natural consequence and events like fleecing of Haj/Umrah pilgrims by nexus of marketing officers and few travel agents was no longer ground for strict surgical cleansing. Procurement deals with vendors of repute recommended by aircraft manufacturers were replaced by unknown vendors during tenures of Ahmed Seed, Aijaz Haroon and Yusafzai, with no questions asked by an irresponsible BOD or the government in power.
Even change in government has witnessed more of the same, with another controversial political nominee placed at helm who not only facilitated rehabilitation with backdated seniority of PPP-nominated MD sacked by them following a strike, but also those marketing executives involved in Umrah Scam along with the revival of controversial procurement contracts, while posting cronies to Manchester, Birmingham etc.
RAHAT SIDDIQUI
Dubai, UAE