ISLAMABAD: A top official of the Aviation Division on Wednesday told a parliamentary panel that Rs94 billion had been paid, while inquiries into Rs81 billion packages were under way

The committee, which met here with Senator Mushahidullah Khan in the chair, took the proposal raised by Senator Behramand Tangi who had proposed to form a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe into alleged corruption in the Islamabad International Airport project.

Senator Tangi of the PPP said that two years had passed since he took up the matter on the floor of the house, and been pressing for formation of a JIT, but he was yet to get any positive response from the government, which was quite disappointing.

Senator Noman Wazir Khattak of the PTI said that such cases could not be resolved through arbitration, adding we should wait for the report of the Cabinet Committee, which was yet to submit its report, and then it should be decided what could be done. He said that there should be some four and a half kilometers distance between the runways but it was not even 400 metres, which was quite worrisome. The committee decided to place the issue of alleged corruption and faulty construction issues of the airport before the prime minister, top of which would be requesting him to form a JIT to settle the dust once and for all. The committee also discussed the voluntary separation scheme of the PIA employees. It was told that the scheme had been introduced due to surplus employees issue in the airlines. The committee was told that it was a voluntary scheme of which the employees could benefit, as the total number of the national flag carrier stood at 14,000, which was much higher compared to other airlines of the world, and the main reason behind losses of the airlines.

The committee was informed that the fake licenses issue would also be resolved soon as all out efforts were being made to put the national airlines back on track.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020