Pakistan airline under fire in fake pilot license scandal

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 777 comes in over houses to land at Heathrow Airport in west London on June 8, 2020. (AFP)
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Updated 27 June 2020
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Pakistan airline under fire in fake pilot license scandal

  • The scandal comes in the wake of a crash in Karachi last month that killed 98 people
  • According to a government review, 262 of Pakistan’s 860 active pilots hold fake licenses or cheated on exams

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national airline is taking heavy flak after it emerged that nearly a third of its pilots were holding fake or dubious licenses, with some observers wondering if the struggling national carrier can survive the scandal.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) this week said it would immediately ground 141 of its 434 pilots after a government review found them to have obtained “bogus” credentials or cheated on exams by having someone else take them.

The scandal comes in the wake of a crash in Karachi last month that killed 98 people — and which authorities have essentially blamed on the two pilots.

Investigators said the aviators were chatting about the coronavirus while they attempted to land the Airbus A320 without putting its wheels down, catastrophically damaging the engines.

The plane lost power and plunged into houses near the airport as it went around for a second landing attempt.

According to a government review last year, details of which were revealed Thursday, 262 of Pakistan’s 860 active pilots hold fake licenses or cheated on exams.

More than half of them were from state-run PIA.

Until the 1970s, Pakistan’s largest airline was considered a top regional carrier but its reputation plummeted amid chronic mismanagement, frequent cancelations and financial woes.

So far, authorities have started dismissal proceedings against 28 of the 262 pilots and subsequent criminal charges are likely, Pakistan’s aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said Friday.

PIA will bring reforms aimed at restructuring the airline, he told reporters, adding the “clean-up process” should be completed by the end of the year.

“People are saying this (revelation) will have a negative impact. But when you try to save a patient, you have to do major surgery, radiation — and even chemo,” the minister told a press conference.

He sought to blame PIA’s problems on “the wrongdoings of previous governments.”

“God willing, 2021 will be the year of the betterment of Pakistan’s institutions and, God willing, PIA will become the PIA of good times — the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.”

But several observers did not share the optimism, and doubt whether the public will trust any promised reforms.

The scandal will “prove the last nail in the coffin of PIA,” predicted Ijaz Haroon, who was managing director at the airline until he resigned 
in 2011 amid a union protest.

“The world is not going to trust us anymore. No one would like to fly with pilots who have bogus licenses. (Khan’s) statement has further tarnished the image of the airline.”

Shahzad Chaudry, a retired Pakistan air force air vice marshal, said the government was unfairly scapegoating PIA, as it is Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority that issues licenses.

“We not only need a complete overhauling of PIA but CAA as well, as both go hand in hand,” Chaudry told AFP.
The government said Friday it had suspended five CAA officials in the scandal.

PIA, which is helmed by a serving air force officer, currently has a fleet of 31 planes and a payroll of about 14,500 workers.

The high staff-to-plane ratio has seen long-standing accusations the government and the military use the airline to dish out jobs to cronies and retired military officers.

“The current PIA economic model is under the vested interests of political parties and different pressure groups,” Chaudry said.
“No airline has 500 staff per aircraft. Our economic model right from the foundation is unsustainable.”

Three current PIA pilots who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity outlined a series of issues, including pilots being forced to work lengthy shifts of up to 24 hours.

A PIA spokesman said there was “no such case.”

Pakistan has a checkered military and civilian aviation safety record, with frequent plane and helicopter crashes over the years.
In 2016, a PIA plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed during a flight from the remote north to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.

Qasim Qadir, the joint secretary at the Pakistan Airline Pilot Association, called for a transparent and thorough final investigation into the May 22 Karachi crash that killed all but two of the 99 people aboard and a child on the ground.

“Blaming (the pilots) is one thing but ... we want the system to become safer for us and the passengers. So please make it a fair investigation,” Qadir said.


Islamabad court restores twice weekly visits with jailed ex-PM Khan 

Updated 11 sec ago
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Islamabad court restores twice weekly visits with jailed ex-PM Khan 

  • Superintendent Adiala Jail where Khan is imprisoned had used discretionary powers to limit visits to Tuesdays only
  • Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and faces a slew of cases, from corruption to reason, that he says are politically motivated

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday restored twice weekly visiting rights for incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan, allowing his family, lawyers and political aides to meet him on Tuesdays and Thursdays, local media widely reported. 

A three-member larger bench was hearing 26 petitions related to visitation rights and jail conditions for Khan. Abdul Ghafoor Anjum, the superintendent at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi where Khan has been incarcerated since 2023, had used his discretionary powers to limit the former premier’s meetings to Tuesdays only. 

Khan’s cases have been tried inside prison on security grounds after he was jailed, and he has not been seen in public since. His messages to the public are conveyed by his lawyers and his social media accounts. 

During the hearing of the petitions on Monday, Khan’s counsel Zaheer Abbas said he was scheduled to meet his family and lawyers on Tuesday and his friends on Thursday.

“As per SOPs, our meeting on Thursday is not being held,” Salman Akram Raja, the secretary general of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was quoted in Dawn as telling the court. 

Nav­eed Malik, representing the jail superintendent, said Khan had been holding meetings in jail twice a week until he was convicted and handed a 14 year sentence in a land corruption case in January.

“The status of the founder of PTI has changed after being convicted in jail,” the lawyer informed the court. 

“According to the jail rules, the superintendent of Adiala Jail has the authority [to schedule the meetings accordingly].”

Malik said PTI leaders had been misusing the privilege of the meetings and making political statements outside Adiala jail. 

“After the meeting, they come outside the jail and make political statements to the media, this is a violation,” he argued. 

The judge heading the bench then ruled that Khan’s family and aides could meet him twice a week but should leave after the meetings and not engage in political activity outside the jail premises. 

“We take an undertaking from them that they will not talk to the media after jail meeting,” he said, adding that only the coordinator of the incarcerated PTI founder, Raja, would name those allowed to meet him.

The jail superintendent’s lawyer said two meetings could be arranged weekly if Khan’s visitors provided assurances “that they will not come out and have political discussions.”

Khan has been in prison since August 2023 and faces a slew of cases, from corruption to treason, that he says are politically motivated. In January, the former premier, 72, was convicted on charges that he and his wife were given land by a real estate developer during his premiership from 2018 to 2022 in exchange for illegal favors. Khan and Bibi had pleaded not guilt.

The verdict was the biggest setback for Khan and his party since a surprisingly good showing in the 2024 general election when PTI’s candidates — who were forced to contest as independents — won the most seats, but fell short of the majority needed to form a government.


In glasses adorned with dried fruits, Peshawar shop serves ‘most unique’ shakes in town

Updated 25 min 28 sec ago
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In glasses adorned with dried fruits, Peshawar shop serves ‘most unique’ shakes in town

  • Amir Sab’s Special Dry Fruits Juice shop serves fresh shakes in glasses entirely covered with gooey, sweet paste and whole dried fruits
  • Shakes retail for between $2-6, steep for Peshawar but which many people are still willing to pay due to drinks' unique look and taste

PESHAWAR: Muhammad Ibrahim stood at his shop, Ameer Sahib Juice Shop, earlier this month and stuck whole pistachios, cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts and raisins to a large milkshake glass covered in a gooey paste. 

He was preparing the glass for what many in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar describe as the “most unique,” and “most beautifully presented” shakes in town. Ibrahim and his brother, Ismail, co-owners of the shop they set up in 2005, grind dates, honey and chocolate to prepare a soft and sticky paste that they carefully apply on the outside of each glass, on which the dried fruits are then glued. The end product is a glass that looks like it is entirely made of dried fruit.

Into the glass are poured thick shakes made from a variety of seasonal fruits, with more edible decorations added on top to finish the offering. The drinks have become as much of a social media hit as they are loved by customers who throng the shop in Ramadan and throughout the rest of the year. 

"At takes at least 15-20 minutes to prepare the glass," Ibrahim told Arab News at Peshawar’s famed Namak Mandi where his store is located. "We make it in the morning and serve it at iftar time.”

Muhammad Ibrahim (second from right) serves customers in his shop in Peshawar, Pakistan on March 21, 2025. (An Photo) 

Different sizes of the shakes retail for between $2-6, steep for a city like Peshawar, but which many people are still willing to pay due to the uniqueness of the drinks' presentation and taste. 

"People from different parts of the country come for this dried fruit juice,” Ibrahim said, saying he regularly served customers from cities across the KP province, of which Peshawar is the capital, as well as from the Punjab province and the federal capital, Islamabad. 

Ayub Sher, a resident of KP's Bajaur district who works in Peshawar, visited Ibrahim's shop last week and was all praise for the shakes.

“We came here to try this juice and to see if it has taste or not. When we tried it, we found it that it is fantastic,” he told Arab News as he scooped some thick shake out of the glass with a long spoon. 

“Forget about the taste, we haven’t seen any juice presented to us this beautifully.”
 


Azerbaijan president calls for joint ventures with Pakistan to expand strategic partnership

Updated 24 March 2025
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Azerbaijan president calls for joint ventures with Pakistan to expand strategic partnership

  • PM Sharif visited Baku in February and announced the two nations would sign deals for $2 billion investment in April
  • Multiple agreements for cooperation in trade, energy, tourism, education, other sectors were signed during Sharif’s visit

ISLAMABAD: Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has called for joint ventures with Pakistan in the defense, energy, economy, logistics and transport sectors to expand Baku’s strategic partnership with Islamabad, state media reported on Sunday. 

Aliyev wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday on the occasion of Pakistan’s 85th Republic Day. 

The letter comes weeks after Sharif visited Baku and announced that the two nations would sign deals in April to boost bilateral investments to $2 billion. Multiple agreements for cooperation in the trade, energy, tourism, education and other sectors were signed during the visit. 

In September last year, Azerbaijan bought JF-17 Block III fighter jets from Pakistan, reportedly in a $1.6bn deal.

During Aliyev’s Pakistan visit last year, a joint committee was set up to materialize projects in trade, commerce, information technology, tourism, telecommunication, mineral resources and other sectors. Sharif said at the time the current trade volume of $100 million did not reflect the “true” trade potential between the two countries.

“In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he [Aliyev] expressed his determination to further expand the strategic partnership and mutual cooperation between Pakistan and Azerbaijan,” Radio Pakistan reported. 

“Aliyev emphasized that successful joint efforts in areas such as the economy, transport, logistics, energy, investment, and the defense industry are crucial for strengthening bilateral relations.”

Cash-strapped Pakistan is currently under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout program and navigating a tricky path to recovery. Pakistan is looking to generate revenue through investment deals with friendly nations and regional and international allies, and to focus on export-led growth. 

In 2023, Pakistan set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military hybrid body, to fast-track foreign investment deals. 

The country has teetered on the brink of economic crisis for several years and economists and international financial institutions have called for major economic reforms.


Pakistani security forces kill 16 militants attempting to cross border from Afghanistan

Updated 24 March 2025
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Pakistani security forces kill 16 militants attempting to cross border from Afghanistan

  • Military says Pakistani Taliban militants attempted to enter Pakistan from Ghulam Khan, border town in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
  • Pakistan often accuses Taliban government in Afghanistan of harboring militants who launch cross-border attacks, Kabul denies the charge

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's security forces said 16 militants were killed on Sunday in a remote northwestern border area as they tried to cross the border with neighboring Afghanistan.
A military statement said the “Khwarij,” a phrase the government uses for Pakistani Taliban, attempted to enter Pakistan from Ghulam Khan, a border town in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
It said Pakistan has long urged Afghanistan to ensure effective border management. Pakistan often accuses the Taliban government in Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to militants operating near the frontier. Kabul denies the charge.
The statement said the Afghan government “is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil” by militants “for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, most claimed by Pakistani Taliban who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and are allies of the Afghan Taliban.
TTP is a separate group and has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then


Pakistan charges Baloch activist with ‘terrorism’

Updated 23 March 2025
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Pakistan charges Baloch activist with ‘terrorism’

  • Mahrang Baloch staged sit-in in Quetta on Friday to demand release of members of her group allegedly detained by security forces
  • Pakistan’s military strongly denies Baloch’s accusations of carrying out extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances of Baloch persons

QUETTA: Pakistan on Sunday charged a Baloch rights activist with terrorism, sedition and murder after she led a demonstration which ended in the death of three protesters, according to police documents.

Mahrang Baloch, one of Pakistan’s most prominent human rights advocates, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group, which claims it has been targeted by Islamabad with harassment and extrajudicial killings.

Pakistan’s military and the central government in Islamabad strongly refute her allegations. 

Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

On Friday, she and other activists took part in a sit-in protest outside the University of Balochistan in the provincial capital of Quetta.

They demanded the release of members of their support group, whom they allege had been detained by security agencies.

Police launched a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, arresting Baloch and other activists, during which at least three protesters died. Both sides blamed each other for the deaths.

Mary Lawlor, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said she was “very concerned” at Baloch’s arrest.

Baloch and other protesters have been charged with terrorism, sedition and murder, according to the police charge sheet seen by AFP.

Hamza Shafqaat, a senior administrative official in Quetta, said that Baloch and other activists were held under public order laws.

Her lawyer, Imran Baloch, confirmed she was detained in a jail in Quetta.

Baloch was barred from traveling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine awards gala of “rising leaders.”

Protests among the Baloch are often led by women. Baloch, now in her 30s, began her activist career aged 16 when her father went missing in what his supporters said was an alleged “enforced disappearance.” His body was found two years later.

Earlier in March, the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) — which accuses outsiders of plundering the province’s natural resources — launched a dramatic train siege that officials said ended in around 60 deaths, half of whom were separatists behind the assault.