Islamabad:
The government led by Shehbaz Sharif has decided to launch an investigation into the controversial statement by former Aviation Minister PTI Ghulam Sarwar Khan in Parliament that led to the prohibition of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to several countries.
The Ministry of Law had initially proposed an investigation into the circumstances and reasons behind Khan’s comments, which suggests that the responsibility will be set and that legal actions are followed.
However, the sources revealed that the Government informed the financing investigation committee to concentrate only on evaluating financial losses and reputation damage instead of pursuing legal actions, to avoid unnecessary international scrutiny.
Certain members of the Cabinet declared that the facts in the statement had been exaggerated due to the internal divisions between the international airlines of Pakistan (PIA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
During a recent cabinet meeting, the ministers expressed serious concerns about the repercussions of the former minister’s statement. Some cabinet members indicated that the internal divisions between PIA and the Civil Aviation (CAA) authority had led exaggerated claims in their comments.
It was also observed that attracting more attention to the problem could be harmful, especially because the Pakistan aviation industry is recovering after years of setbacks. PIA flights to Europe have resumed, and both the United Kingdom and the European Union are carrying out aviation security audits to consider raising the prohibition of flights to the United Kingdom.
Pressing the problem more at this stage could do more damage than well. As a result, the Factor Financing Research Committee was urged to comply with the evaluation of financial losses and reputation damage, avoid legal actions or assign guilt, movements that could invite unwanted international care.
The Cabinet was informed that the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) had previously heard a request from an individual who states that Khan’s statement had caused the reputation to PIA. The petitioner sought Khan’s disqualification as a member of the National Assembly.
However, IHC refrained from intervening in the matter, stating that the court took into account that the prime minister and the members of the cabinet “will not hesitate to proceed against a minister or any other official if they are involved in some way that causes damage to the interests of the State or the reputation of the professional pilots and the bearer of the national flag. “
In the light of the Court’s observations, the cabinet had refrained from addressing the matter. Consequently, the Ministry of Law proposed that the Cabinet establish a Committee for Investigation of Facts with the terms of reference to investigate the circumstances and reasons behind Khan’s hurried statement and evaluate the financial losses incurred by the National Treasury.
The committee’s mandate also included evaluating the reputation damage caused to the country and the national airline, as well as determining the appropriate legal action course by identifying responsibility.
The cabinet considered an informative session on a legally sustainable proposal, presented by the Division of Law and Justice, to investigate the reasons behind the declaration made in the Parliament with respect to the Pia pilots in 2020.
Consequently, the Committee constituted a cabinet.
