The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued directives to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to submit by December 4 a response to alleged corruption, mismanagement, inefficiencies, irregularities and illegalities in the national airline. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued notice to all parties in a suo motu hearing and identical constitutional petitions.
The Chief Justice observed that national institutions were being destroyed and no one was taking effective measures to address corruption in several public organisations including PIA, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills. At the onset of hearing, the counsel for PIA, Raja Muhammad Bashir, apprised the bench that the airline was facing Rs 119 billion losses. He also admitted frequent delays in airline's flights.
The Chief Justice asked the PIA counsel why Lieutenant General Yasin Malik (Retd), Chairman PIA, should not be summoned to respond. Bashir submitted that chairman PIA had distanced himself from the past wrongdoings of the airline. "What wrongdoings of the past," Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed questioned. The counsel replied "alleged wrongdoings". Chief Justice asked whether the present management of the airline had conducted any forensic audit to fix responsibility for past maladministration.
The bench also asked the counsel to read out a letter sent to the court by Transparency International in which the transparency of PIA's new deals with some international airlines had been questioned. The bench inquired why "new airplanes were purchased on lease instead of making the grounded planes operational." The counsel apprised the bench that eight planes were made operational recently.
The counsel for PIA also told the court that PPRA rules would be strictly followed in future and sought advice from the court. Chief Justice Chaudhry responded: "why are you seeking advice from us? You have financial experts then why are you seeking assistance from outside?" Later the bench adjourned hearing till December 4.
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