Licence controversy

The investigation report on PIA’s ill-fated A320 aircraft was presented to the National Assembly by the federal minister for aviation. He made a startling disclosure that 40 percent of the pilots in Pakistan have fake licences. This should alarm those passengers who plan to travel by a Pakistani airline.

As a first step, all pilots holding fake licences must be immediately sacked, instead of being simply grounded and offered grounding compensation under insurance. There is no need to adhere to the routine process of issuing a show-cause notice and then fixing a long drawn inquiry that can become a safety risk. Having a fake licence is a criminal act, and this notoriety must not go unpunished – covering both the holder and the approval giving agency. There is no room for compassion and empathy in the case. So demeaning has been the licence scandal that PIA could be banned from operating to foreign destinations or may be required to engage foreign pilots only. The federal minister for aviation is requested to publish the list of pilots with fake licences and under which governments these licences were issued.

Kulsoom Arif

Karachi