There was a decision by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) in Riqodik Case where Pakistan suffered a huge loss. A fine of almost six billion dollar was levied on Pakistan. Time proved that Justice Iftikhar Choudhry was drastically flawed in his decision.
Now another decision has come from another CJP ordering Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of national airline Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Air Marshal Arshad Malik to pack up and report back to Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Grounds of decision are apparently equally whimsical as that of Riqodik case. Time will tell. But, by then, it may be too late.
Read: Supreme Court rejects plea seeking restoration of Arshad Malik as PIA CEO
Air Marshall is guilty of cleansing the organization infested with rodents of political rotten system. How dare he threw out 3000 fake degree holders and investigate 7000 more fake degree holders. He stopped procurement of spare parts from abroad and instead started getting those made on many times less price indigenously from PAF Complex Kamra, which has successfully made JF 17 Thunder Fighter Aircraft, thus stampeding the commission mafia.
He got a grounded Boeing 777 and Airbus A 320 recovered, and made them airworthy by utilizing own engineers and engineering facilities. He recovered ground equipment of worth millions of dollars from the scrap.
He was in uniform and he brought with him the team of uniform officers who were not getting anything paid by PIA. He and his team were working on the pay they were receiving in PAF. He and his team were living in the Airforce Officers Mess.
He and his team would travel on PAF transport aircraft. He wanted to recover the IFE (In-flight Entertainment) system by using the local Pakistani expertise, thus saving another millions. He carried out audit of the previous years, thus bringing out anomalies of an extreme proportion, pointing out the loot of millions of shareholders from their rightful profit.
He was improving the services provided to the passengers, adherence to the time schedule of the flights, opening the maliciously closed air routes, improving the catering services, ensuring the seat availability and booking factors, etc and over and above disciplined the rotten rank and file.
Read:Sindh High Court stops PIA CEO from working
It is the same PIA whose German CEO fled the country while on ECL and took along a Airbus A 300 aircraft . What an amazing forgery it was. Another home grown PIA pilot, Captain Ijaz Haroon, as CEO, went on a rampage and then left without being questioned or charged.There were so many suo moto actions but none against such scoundrels.
Unions are another big source of problem. In November 1991, I had a chance to visit the Turkish facility of Armour Personnel Carrier manufacturing in Ankara as a part of delegation with late General Asif Nawaz, then Chief of Army Staff. We were introduced to a gentleman who was working on the lathe machine. We were told that he was the president of labor union.
I never knew about it till Mar 2000, when I got my first job after retirement from army as Senior Manager Personnel and Administration in a semi government fertilizer production plant. The president and other elected members of labor union were big vagabonds. They had the patronage of the sitting MNA of the area. They would fleece the administration.
The Managing Director would dare not refuse their illegal demands. They would not work at all. They had the history of beating the top management. To my good luck and their bad luck they tried it with me too. My informer pre-warned me. Gen Pervaiz Musharraf had taken over. A friend of mine was Commander of that area. Timely intervention and stern warning to those rascals put them on the mat.
They never changed their habits till that unit was privatized. New administration closed the factory after a few months. I saw those vagabonds literally begging for jobs thereafter. The conclusion of the above two examples is that in Pakistan the unions are more of blackmailers than of any help to the administration.
They are entirely oblivious of the fact that they are supposed to be a bridge between the workers and administration. I am witness of seeing a president of the labor union traveling on a PIA flight and was treated like a king by the staff.
He was received on the tarmac by a host of people and drove him away as he was a foreign dignitary. The political interference has aggravated the situation in almost all the government run organizations.
Political parties misused their authority and stuffed, rather over stuffed, these organizations with their own people with vested interests. Many of them never ever came to job site but kept on receiving their pay. This is the way these organizations were practically robbed. May it be PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan Railways, etc, the story of disaster is the same.
Read:World Bank willing to invest in PIA: CEO Arshad Malik
Pakistan Steel Mills was turned around from the verge of disaster when Gen Pervaiz Musharraf appointed Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum as its head. Within a short period of time it became a profitable organization. It went to crooks again as soon he left it to civilian counterparts. Reason being the same union with complete backing of MQM.
To cut it short, may I have the right to question the acumen of CJP Justice Gulzar by out rightly ordering the removal of AM Arshad Malik, when the later turned the tables on the near destroyed organization.
The remarks of burdening the passengers by doubling the fares seems absurd. International fares are in competition with other airlines of the world. Domestic travelers are only those who have enough to afford. PIA is not a charity organization. Profits bring prosperity for the workers in the shape of bonuses. Being a Stock Exchange listed company, the shareholders are benefitted too. Price of shares rose at stock exchange but has plummeted after the Supreme Court decision. I have traveled to UK on 30th December 2019 by PIA. It was a wonderful experience. Things seemed in perfect. I am apprehensive of the wellbeing of PIA now.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan is trying his best to bring stability within the country. But, the judicial interventions are stalling his efforts. Instead of strengthening the governance, judiciary is towing its own line. I do not advocate to support the wrong but at least give margin where some good is visible.
Amazingly the judges have the support of the bars. Just a few lawyers like Aitazaz Ahsan have openly expressed their frustration and criticized the decisions of Supreme Court in recent past. Raza Rabbani of PPP shed crocodile tears and voted against his conscience because of the orders of his leader.
Where is the morality? AM Arshad Malik has been let down by his legal team, as it seems to be, in all probability. The lawyers who must side the Mafiaso Labor Unions, because they are their bread and butter. No chief justice takes suo moto against the judges are involved in blatant judicial misconduct and the lawyers who openly behaved as hooligans.
Such actions mar the trust of a commoner like me in the judiciary. May I ask a question. By taking such steps, is judiciary supporting the corrupt?.
