by MALIK TARIQ ALI
The Prime Minister’s Advisor on Aviation Sardar Mehtab Abbasi has complained that British authorities have shared no details of investigations conducted and heroin seized within concealed panels on PIA B777 which was impounded in London when Pk 785 arrived from Islamabad.
The fact, however, remains that for over three decades; PIA has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It is criminal negligence on part of the Ministry of Aviation and federal government for lack of transparency and financial and administrative discipline. The airline survives on state subsidies and loans such as recent Rs 30 Billion by Punjab Bank given on sovereign guarantees while its employees such as pilots being amongst highest paid in region benefitting from salary hikes with losses rising astronomically and liabilities exceeding total assets.
There is an issue of overcapacity which exceeds demand when over a period of time, traffic rights were given to Gulf regional airlines in violation of bilateral agreements which has made survival of Pakistani aviation industry an uphill task requiring services of highly qualified executives with integrity at helm in PIA and CAA, instead of the mediocrity and cronyism that erodes its executive corridors.
The internal hemorrhaging of PIA and its subsidiary PIA Investments started when Zia took over and AM Nur Khan resigned because of political interference.
PIA had earlier survived 1971 debacle when its former MD Zafar Chaudhry suggested to PM Bhutto to slash all routes, fleet, and manpower to half, and the decision by ZAB to replace him with Rafique Saigol followed by AM Nur Khan, giving both free hand and assurances of no political interference. The PIA not only resurrected from ruins but they took it to new heights as an airline of repute in Asia worthy to be called ‘Great People to Fly With’.
Having established that the PIA resorted to paying more than prevalent cost of leasing aircraft, nobody has ever faced criminal charges for financial embezzlement; nor for controversial deal of B777 turning down offer of white-tailed aircraft options by United Airlines with benefit of 35% down payment or the controversial deal by AVM Viqar Azeem appointed by Zia, selling brand new DC-10-30 through Page Avjet in return for ageing B747-200 nearing completion of their hull life.
The advisor needs to understand that it is Pakistani state and extensive paraphernalia paid from taxpayer money which needs to reform and perform designated roles, free from political interference or nexus of powerful vested interests which benefits from criminal economy.
There may be a lot of problems with private airlines, but their aircrafts have seldom been used for organised smuggling. The heroin hidden in this B777 was most likely placed behind concealed panels in toilets, coat compartment and overhead bins in Karachi, the main maintenance base, during prolonged periods that aircraft are on ground. These drugs and other contraband items enter airport through numerous security checkpoints manned by the ASF.
Remember in the terrorist attack at Karachi Airport on June 8, 2014, the terrorists entered through cargo and ground handling agency leaving more than 36 dead. The weapons used by them skipped detection with the connivance of those tasked to secure the airport. ICAO rules recommend a sterile zone around the periphery of all airports unlike our airports, which have housing colonies and commercial ventures built within yards of the fencing, having been given an NOC by none other than CAA.
It would serve interest of our aviation industry and restore confidence of international regulatory agencies, if NADRA’s fingerprint data of every individual employed in PIA, ASF, Customs, Cargo Agencies, CAA security, Catering, ANF, baggage loading services are shared for forensic investigation to match fingerprints taken by British police and Border Security who strip searched PK 785.
There is a whole network involved in this billion dollars criminal economy which includes not just those based in Pakistan but those at various airports where the drugs were meant to be offloaded. It is not necessary that these drugs were being shipped to London, but maybe for any other destination on PIA’s network where this aircraft was to be scheduled in coming days.
State’ failure to crackdown on powerful drug mafia, money laundering, ammunition smuggling and gold smuggling dons would have disastrous consequences for Pakistan. Merely catching small pawns used as carriers, such as PIA technical staff or crew or even other junior staff in ASF etc would serve only as an eye wash.
Discipline must be enforced within PIA, CAA and other regulatory agencies.
Every employee of PIA at the time of recruitment submits copies of basic educational qualification with an undertaking that any such information if found fake will result in termination of services without any benefits. Yet over 350 known fake degree holders (most of them recruited in 2008-2015 period) continue to be on payrolls of PIA courtesy friendly prosecution by airline legal and administrative branch through stay orders which are not pursued effectively, albeit legally they cannot extend beyond six months.
There has been not a single instance where an employee of PIA or other agencies involved in aviation has faced criminal charges for offences putting lives of revenue paying passengers at risk or negligence which can lead to imposition of sanctions on Pakistan aviation industry like in 2007.
The PIA has already been downgraded to a category which places it on the priority list for random inspections in Europe, the USA, and Canada etc for persistent safety violations and incidences of indiscipline such as violation of smoking in the cockpit and crew rest areas.
Majority of PIA’s workforce is competent and professionally skilled in areas of expertise, but it is few rotten eggs with their powerful godfathers, who in spite of history of malpractices and indiscipline which should have resulted in termination of services and facing criminal charges, not only managed to survive but ended getting promoted to key executive assignments.
A controversial PIA pilot found guilty of irregularities in recruitment by none other than an investigation conducted by AVM Mushaf Ali Mir on the orders of the Defense Ministry ended up being appointed as MD in 2008.
Employees caught red handed in smuggling or shoplifting at Dubai duty free shops were not only reinstated but given backdated seniority. PIA’s disciplined and qualified human resources were polluted to an extent that the director administration was not even a graduate. An executive who, during his tenure, cancelled all procurement contracts for supply of essential spare parts and appointed an unknown vendor Transworld Aviation FZE, based in Dubai, on September 24, 2011, which lead to grounding half fleet has been rehired on contract after retirement.
Earlier PIA had made same suicidal mistake in 2005 which finally resulted in the imposition of partial ban by EU in 2007. A review of three incidences involving PIA pilots since January 2017 would reveal that all of them have a history of gross indiscipline. The extent of administrative rot that inflicts both PIA and CAA should be judged from gross miscarriage of justice when the stewardess who reported the incidence of illegal carriage of 7 extra passengers by Capt Anwar Adil from Karachi to Medina in January 2017 was grounded for over 4 months while pilot continued to fly and hold an executive assignment till such time that CEO Hildenbrand was removed, although he faced charges of having submitted fake degree.
The bitter reality is that the state which owns PIA and controls regulatory authority CAA, along with the host of other agencies such as ASF, ANF, Customs, FIA, has failed to effectively crackdown on those involved in financial and administrative indiscipline, security lapses and compromises on flight safety. PIA faces a likelihood of sanctions and restrictions on its flight operations to Europe and beyond unless the government has a political will to proactively arrests this downslide.
In the aftermath of 9-11 heightened security measures are in force, and countries like Pakistan are under scrutiny. It is because of failure to meet stringent security standards that Pakistani registered airlines have been denied permission for direct flights to USA.
Just take example of the fake detector ADE-651 nicknamed Khoji which continued to be used by ASF at all our airports even after its creator a British businessman James McCormick was imprisoned over fraud charges. More than 15,000 Khojis were manufactured by none other an ASF subsidiary and sold in Pakistan to private sector and also at airports and other sensitive state installations, even after ADE-651 was declared fake.
It is security which is compromised when those tasked with it fall victim to their conflicts of interest in commercial corporate ventures and launching housing societies.