From Nur Khan to today

From a small airline started by Ispahani in Calcutta to the establishment of Orient Airways and its merger in 1955 with PIA, the role of people like Adamjee and Zafarul Ahsan as GM should never be forgotten. In 1959 AC Nur Khan was appointed chief executive; he brought only one officer from PAF who lasted hardly a year as director operations and was replaced by Enver Jamall in December 1959. Jamall served under him until the 1965 tragic Cairo crash and also in his second tenure.

If only the CAA had performed its role of regulator by suspending or revoking all dubious licenses routinely and A M Arshad had implemented the Six Point Corrective Action Plan mutually agreed with EASA in 2019, instead of ignoring them for nine months, this current ban could have been avoided. Appointments must be based on merit alone and not serve as rehabilitation centers for retired or serving officers.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore