- Matter of shame
As if PIA wasn’t controversial enough already, now there is the matter of the DG CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) allegedly taking a group of friends for a special tour of Nanga Parbat on a PIA plane that was already scheduled for a flight. And since the matter did not escape the unforgiving reach of social media – as a video of complaining passengers giving the DG a piece of their minds went viral online – it has been duly taken up by NAB as well as the Supreme Court. The DG quickly denied any wrongdoing on national TV, denied taking anybody along, and placed all the blame squarely on PIA management, but things will become clear once the investigation is complete.
Even if this particular incident finds no misuse of authority at all, which is doubtful since the passengers were kept waiting for hours, it is not as if government officials are not known for taking personal advantage of official positions. Over long years, sadly, such behaviour has become quite the norm, which is why we have come to be counted among the most corrupt countries in the world. Such trends are naturally encouraged when public offices are filled with political appointees and merit is openly sacrificed, ultimately, along all sections of society.
Every time PIA’s future is debated and privatisation discussed at length before the idea is dropped once again, there is practically no movement on what must come first. Unless the national carrier, just like any other business, is first turned around and rid of its many outrageous inefficiencies and leakages it will not work properly and definitely not fetch a fair price. But weren’t all the PSEs (Public Sector Enterprises) supposed to not just provide service delivery but also fetch top dollar for the exchequer? And aren’t they still hemorrhaging hundreds of billions every year with the government scrambling to bail them out one after the other? Once the proper steps are taken, and corruption rooted out, these outfits will slowly begin functioning properly. But if things keep going as they are, there is very little hope.
