PALPA to challenge govt’s ‘dubious licenses’ pilots list in SC

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PALPA President Chaudhry Salman says they have consulted with the senior lawyers and will challenge the list in the Supreme Court soon. Photo: File

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA) has announced it will challenge the government’s list of 262 pilots whom they claim to hold “dubious licenses” in the Supreme Court, reported The News on Thursday.

Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan last month had told the National Assembly that 262 pilots, out of total 860 pilots in the country, had suspicious flying licenses and would be grounded immediately.

In a press conference held on June 27, the aviation minister while giving details of the 262 pilots, had said that degrees of 30 more pilots out of the 262 suspected of obtaining dubious licences have turned out to be fake and they have been terminated.

The minister had added that out of the overall pilots who were alleged to have dubious credentials, 141 of them belong to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) while nine of them work for Air Blue and Serene Air. All the pilots were grounded immediately, he had said.

According to the minister, the forensic inquiry revealed that 121 of the pilots got their licences by cheating in one exam paper; 39 in two exam papers; 21 in three exam papers; 15 in four exam papers; 11 in five exam papers; 11 in six exam papers, 10 in seven exam papers and 34 pilots in eight exam papers.

The PALPA, however, while rejecting the list of 262 pilots provided by the government has said that the list is not authentic and has decided to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

“We have consulted with the senior lawyers and will challenge the list in the Supreme Court soon”, Captain Chaudhry Salman Riaz, President PALPA confirmed to The News on Wednesday.

He termed the figures of 141 pilots as claimed by the government that they belong to PIA suspicious, adding that out of 141, 39 pilots have already left PIA while four pilots embraced martyrdom in different incidents.

Similarly, he said that the names of 29 other pilots are also not authentic.

The PALPA added that the government did not provide them with the said list of 262 pilots whose licences as claimed by them are suspicious. “We got the list from the Licensing Branch of Civil Aviation Authority,” he said, adding that the said branch keeps the whole record.

Captain Riaz added that instead of taking the list from the said branch, the government took the list from Aviation Division.

Meanwhile, Captain Imran Norajo, Secretary-General PALPA said out of the list of 262 pilots, they have so far received the list of 171 pilots belonging to PIA, Shaheen Air, Air Blue and Serene Air but expressed grave concerns that still they have not yet been provided a list of remaining 91 pilots. “We have requested the concerned authority to provide the list of the remaining 91 pilots but so far we did not get it”, PALPA secretary said.

Meanwhile, he too confirmed that they will file a petition in the Supreme Court either on the day, the apex court resumes the suo moto case taken on the said matter or before it challenging the list of 262 pilots claimed by the government that their flying licences are suspicious.

It is pertinent to mention here that Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed on June 25 while heading a five-member bench hearing suo moto case regarding COVID-19 had taken notice of the pilots with fake licences.

Originally published in The News