I am one of the many Pakistani origin Americans, who welcomed President Musharraf and his seven-point agenda. His bold decision to join the war against terrorism and encourage enlightened moderation has won the hearts of educated Muslims. However, there are certain grave violations of rules and regulations governing employees working in PIA, which need to be addressed. I am sure that these violations of rules are not in the know of the presidency.
The President has always been known as an upright officer and one who believes in justice. Most of these violations have been at the intervention of few officers in the Ministry of Defence and some other bureaucrats and politicians. These gross violations, which occurred during the period 2001- 2004, have spread discontent within Marketing, Flight Operations, Engineering, Corporate Planning and Administration departments of PIA.
They range from favouritism, violation of PIA seniority rules, selective application of laws, and improper whimsical selection for promotion, foreign posting etc.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan in its judgement dated 14 September 2004, ( Abid Hassan etc vs PIAC), has given a judgement:- "We may point out here that there is need to rescind all discretionary powers in the hands of those enjoying authority in PIAC, which should be exercised in accordance with Rules and Regulations, which have no element of arbitrariness in them.-------as whimsical and arbitrary actions create acute feeling of dismay, despair, despondency and deprivation which could affect the performance of PIAC. " This judgement given by Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, has quoted (PLD 1990 SC 1092) " Structuring the Discretion" in the report stating" Wherever wide-worded powers conferring discretion exist, there remains always the need to structure the discretion and it has been pointed out in the Administrative Law Text by Kenneth Clup Davis (pg94) that the structuring of discretion only means regularising it, organising it, producing order in it, so that decision will achieve the high quality of justice. The seven points that are most useful in the structuring of discretionary power are open plans, open policy statements, open rules, open findings, open reasons, open precedents and fair informal procedures. Somehow, in our context, the wide-worded conferment of discretionary powers or reservation of discretion, without framing rules to regulate its exercise, has been taken to be enhancement of the power and it gives impression in the first instance but the authorities fail to rationalise it and regulate it by rules, or policy statements or precedents, the Courts have to intervene more often than is necessary, apart from exercise of such power appearing arbitrary and capricious at times".
The President of Pakistan is requested to intervene and order reversal of all such arbitrary acts, where equality before law proclaimed in the first part of clause of Article 5 of Pakistan Constitution---an Article which declares that all citizens are equal before law.