- All international and domestic flights of national flag carrier cancelled as PIA employees observed countrywide strike against killing of three colleagues during Tuesday’s protests
- JAC spokesman claims four PIA employees ‘missing’ since Tuesday night
All domestic and international flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were cancelled on Wednesday, airport officials said, as the strike resulting from employees’ protest against the national carrier’s proposed privatisation entered its second day.
PIA employees resumed their protest outside major airports across the country, which came as the federal government invoked the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1952, in the PIA for six months.
PIA representatives at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport and Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport confirmed that all domestic and international flights scheduled for Wednesday had been cancelled.
“All PIA flights have been suspended indefinitely,” said a PIA inquiry representative at Lahore airport.
He said two PIA flights from London and Milan landed at Lahore airport on Wednesday morning, although services of “employees of a private company” were used to handle the arriving flights.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman Pervez George said that the authority has requested private carrier Airblue to schedule additional flights between major cities to accommodate passengers after cancellation of PIA flights.
Meanwhile, PIA Joint Action Committee (JAC) spokesman Nasrullah Khan said employees had resumed protest outside all major airports in the country and there has been no change in their demands.
As news of the deaths of three protesting PIA employees in a clash with security forces spread on Tuesday evening, the national flag carrier’s flight operations across the country began shutting down in solidarity with the protesters, officials said.
PIA flight operations were suspended around 4pm at Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar airports. The status of PIA flights at Karachi was already uncertain due to the violent protests.
As the demonstration turned bloody, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif warned that protesting employees of PIA will be fired from service and can be sent to jail for a year.
Later in the night, PIA Chairman Nasser Jaffer announced that he has resigned from his post following the death of two employees.
‘Four PIA employees missing’:
JAC spokesman Nasrullah Khan claimed on Wednesday that four PIA employees “went missing” last night.
Among the four are Deputy Convener JAC and President of People’s Unity union Hidayatullah Khan and senior vice president of People’s Unity Zameer Chandio, Nasrullah said and PIA employees Saifullah and Mansoor.
The committee will approach police to register First Information Reports against their disappearance, he said.
Later addressing a press conference in the evening, JAC Chairman Sohail Baloch said “the four members are still missing” and that the PPP Karachi President Najmi Alam has said that they are not in the custody of the police.
“Alam said that if the ‘missing members’ are in the custody of Rangers or any other security agency, the government will try to bring them back by the evening,” said Baloch.
“This will decide our future course of action. If the government thinks this is becoming a law and order situation, then it should make efforts to resolve it,” maintained the JAC chairman.
He said the protest will continue for the third day and the workers will gather at the airport on Thursday morning at 8am.
To protest or go on a strike is a human right but this should not lead to killing and maimimg. We all know that PIA is one of the most most overstaffed airlines in the world. It is also a bleeding wound on the country's economy. Neoptisim is rife in staffing. But it is still a symbol of national pride! There was a time it was regarded as one of the best airlines in Asia but alas not nowThe planes are dirty, the ground staff and the cabin staff are rude and one gets the feeling of being unwanted. The problems with PIA have been there for years and have to be sorted out with national and not vested interets in view. Some thing has to be done. I understand the problem but have no solution. Why don't we leave the problems to the professional and. not to the courts and politicians.. Their mandate should be clear and binding. Only then will be PIA great people to fly with. So far it is a torture.
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