Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has warned that the facilitators of fake degree holder pilots will be punished as per law.

“The employees involved in dubious degrees were sacked after scrutiny, and this is an ongoing process the credentials of all employees are being evaluated,” said the minister while talking to a private channel. He said that directions have been issued to pursue those involved in the facilitation of those having fake credentials.

As per the global standards, there are 150 employees per aircraft including pilot and cabin crew members, whereas in Pakistan the number stands at 550 employees per aircraft, Sarwar informed. “There is a lot of overstaffing, as people were employed on a political basis and without considering merit,” he said.

To a question about Karachi and Chitral plane crash incidents, he said the reports regarding the tragic plane crash incidents will be made public by the end of this year.

On the issue of flying restrictions imposed by countries amid the dubious degrees fiasco, Ghulam Sarwar said that none of the aircraft is being grounded however, there are restrictions in Europe, including the UK. “We didn’t appeal to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), because their team arrived to audit us and after auditing, they gave us 97.5 percent satisfactory remarks,” he said.