Lawmakers criticise PIA’s mismanagement
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday expressed sympathies with the families of victims of the PIA plane crash and demanded a high-level probe into the incident.
The joint resolution was moved by the Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak. It expressed grief and sorrow over the unfortunate incident and loss of precious lives.
The resolution offered sympathies to the bereaved families.Chaired by deputy speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, the House offered Fateha for the departed souls.Earlier, members from both the treasury and opposition debated the Havelian plane crash in which 47 persons were killed.
They appreciated the timely help provided by the local people by starting the rescue activities at the site of the plane crash. The legislators paid tributes to the pilots for saving the local population by diverting the plane towards the hills shortly before the crash.
Taking part in the debate, opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rahman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl, Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha who is parliamentary leader of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Sardar Hussain Babak of the ANP, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s Dr Haider Ali, Qalandar Lodhi and Shah Farman, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F)'s Mufti Fazal Ghafoor, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) lawmakers Muhammad Ali and Aizazul Mulk Afkari, Pakistan People's Party (PPP)'s Fakhare Azam, Qaumi Watan Party's Bakht Baidar Khan and PML-N's Amna Sardar expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives and offered sympathies to the victim families.
They demanded a proper probe into the incident and fixing of responsibility so those found guilty are punished. The lawmakers asked as to why the plane was allowed to fly if there were reports of a technical fault in the plane.
They said the matter needed to be probed. They said the findings of the investigations should be made public. The House through another resolution demanded the federal government to make public the affairs of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The members pointed to mismanagement and irregularities in recruitment in the national flag carrier. They asked as to how an airline was running in deficit.The legislators said the total number of employees in the PIA should be unveiled to know how many of them were surplus, why the airline was running in deficit and which government had made recruitment in it.
They questioned as to how an airline was suffering annual losses of Rs5 billion and why it was in such a shambles when its retired employees had helped in establishing a successful airline such as the Emirates. The lawmakers said the incidents showed mismanagement in the airline and the public ought to be made informed of the facts.
The opposition members criticised the departments and agencies concerned for the failure to reach the site of the crash in time to start the rescue operation. They said the bodies of the victims were placed on the ground at the Ayub Medical Complex due to lack of bags and beds.
They said the helicopters reached too late to shift the bodies to Islamabad. Some of the lawmakers criticised the PTI-led provincial government for not making available the helicopters in emergencies for rescue services and using the choppers only for the visits of chief minister and his ministers.
The issue of ownership of forests in Malakand division was also debated in the assembly as Muhammad Ali of the JI and Syed Jaffar Shah of the ANP through a call attention notice raised it in the House.The movers said the committee constituted for the purpose failed to submit its report even after seven months and forest owners from Dir, Swat and Chitral had come to Peshawar to raise the issue.
They said the seven districts of Malakand division were the main source of revenue for the provincial government, but the people were deprived of due rights.Those taking part in the debate said Malakand was the largest division in the province and contributed revenue of Rs12 billion annually to the exchequer from the resources like forests, water and wildlife but the residents in the region were deprived of basic amenities.
They said PTI Chairman Imran Khan during his visit to Kumrat had suggested that the residents in Malakand should be provided solar hearths to stop cutting of trees for firewood but no step had been taken in this regard.
The legislators said the forests owners in Malakand should be given ownership right like that of Indus Kohistan as they had been residing in the area for 800 years and should not be forced to stage an uprising for their rights. The deputy speaker announced formation of a parliamentary committee headed by Finance Minister Muzaffar Sayyid with Dr Haider Ali, Shah Farman, Fazle Elahi, Syed Jaffar Shah, Salim Khan, Bakht Baidar and other local MPAs as members to resolve the issue. She said local elders should also be included in the committee.
