Islamabad: The Pakistan government has cancelled the licences of 50 pilots for flying with fake credentials. Authorities will probe how the 50 pilots obtained the certificates through unfair means. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) shared the information about the pilots with a court here Sunday.
The issue of fake licences surfaced in the wake of the tragic crash of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane in Karachi May 22. In the crash 97 people were killed. Then Minister of Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan told the media that 260 of Pakistan’s 860 active pilots had either fake licences or had cheated in their exams. Their names were made public to avoid any negative impression about other pilots.
‘Dawn’ newspaper reported that authorities told the Islamabad high court that under the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, they have reviewed licences of 860 commercial pilots. The body has cancelled 50 of them after a thorough scrutiny.
The pilots were working for the national flag carrier PIA as well as other Pakistani private and foreign airlines. This was said a report filed by Additional Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Khokhar in response to a petition submitted by pilot Syed Saqlain Haider, whose credentials have been found fake.
According to the report, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been given the task to proceed against the pilots who managed to get licences through unfair means. A CAA report said the process of verification of 259 licences had been completed.
After due process, July 6, a summary for cancellation of licences of 28 pilots was submitted to the federal cabinet. It approved the cancellation the next day. The petitioner’s name has been included in the list of the 28 pilots.
Another summary for cancellation of licences of 22 other pilots was submitted to the cabinet September 11. It was approved September 15.
The licences of 860 active pilots were reviewed, of which 262 were deemed suspect and suspended. However, after verification, 172 licences were cleared and 50, including the petitioner’s licence, failed verification. The report said licences of two other pilots were cancelled prior to the inquiry into the matter.
The scandal led to a huge embarrassment for Pakistan and the PIA, and the European Union (EU) banned its flights.