Fake pilot licences: SHC refuses to entertain petition

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday dismissed as non maintainable a petition pertaining to fake licences of pilots ruling that an inquiry into the matter was underway due to which it would not intervene.

Petitioner Waqar Ahmed submitted that he obtained pilot license from the CAA but his license was suspended by the CAA in wake of an ongoing inquiry against pilots of Pakistan International Airlines having fake degree.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Khadim Hussain Shaikh and Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry rejected the petition filed by pilot Waqar Ahmed after hearing the arguments put forward by his lawyer.

Justice Khadim Hussain Shaikh observed that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was already carrying out a high-level probe into the issue of fake licences of pilots. The SHC will not intervene in the matter being investigated, he said.

The judge said fake licences will be canceled after the probe, asking how can the court allow pilots having fake licences to fly planes and kill people. He asked the petitioner to take back his petition or a fine will be imposed on him.

The court observed that only those pilots will be allowed to resume their duty whose credentials are cleared by the authorities after the investigations.

The court observed that the entire nation has become a laughing stock thanks to the fake degree fiasco. The court dismissed the petition as non-maintainable saying it cannot interfere in the inquiry into dubious credentials of pilots. The court dismissed the petition as non-maintainable, saying the court cannot interfere in the inquiry into dubious credentials of pilots.

Last month, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced that 262 airline pilots, whose credentials may have been falsified, would be grounded at once. Among these pilots were 141 from Pakistan International Airlines, nine from Air Blue and 10 from Serene Air, he said, adding that the remaining were affiliated with flying clubs, chartered plane services or foreign airlines.