Pilot license scandal: A big lie?

Does the country run on the basis of law or someone’s wishes, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah had questioned while hearing a petition filed by Saqlain Akhter, a pilot, who had challenged the cancellation of his license.

In June, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan had announced in Parliament that of the 860 pilots working in Pakistan, 262, over 30%, had fake flying licenses. He later backtracked and used a slightly different terminology of licenses obtained through dubious means.

This, he said, had been disclosed during a high-level investigation by a Board of Inquiry (BOI) constituted in February 2019.

The revelation was shocking.

This number - 262  pilots - started to do the rounds on local and international media. But then this week, during a court proceeding, another shocking revelation came to the fore. The BOI report, which the minister had cited on the floor of the House, didn’t exist, admitted the counsel of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Read more: Fake licences of Pakistani pilots most extraordinary story in aviation: CNN

In fact, the figure of 262 pilots was plucked, it seemed, out of thin air.

I had my doubts about the minister’s statement from the start. What raised my suspicion was that after Khan’s claim, it took three days for the media to get a final list of the pilots who supposedly had ‘doubtful’ credentials.

The list was hastily compiled. It was inaccurate, incomplete and had glaring errors.

In its last hearing, the Islamabad High Court noted that the aviation secretary was also working as the CAA director-general, which was illegal. 

On Tuesday, during court proceedings, it was added that in fact the actions of the past three aviation secretaries, who had held the additional charge of CAA DG, can be questioned.

The IHC chief justice also repeatedly inquired about the legality of the notification, which constituted the BOI, investigating the scandal of the pilot’s licenses. 

Read more: Fake licences: SHC dismisses pilot's petition against CAA as non-maintainable

In response, the additional attorney-general and private counsel for the CAA conceded that the Board was indeed unlawfully established.

And from here on, it only got worse.

When the IHC chief justice asked where the Board's report with the figure of 262 pilots was, the counsel of the CAA admitted there was no such report.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court admitted Akhtar’s petition and set aside the order to cancel his airline transport pilot license.

A detailed judgement is expected in a few days. When the order is released, the government will have to grapple with some important questions: how will it deal with the incompetence of the minister and the secretary of aviation? And what about the utter disregard for laws and procedures? 

Read more: PIA sacks seven pilots over licensing issue

We must remember that the secretary of aviation was given an additional charge of CAA DG by the government itself, which included the prime minister and his cabinet.

As for now, the matter of the licenses will be reexamined, likely by a new board. But can the same bureaucracy that flouted laws in the first instance be trusted to do justice? Or should a multinational or multi-organisational board be set up to review the matter in a transparent manner?

All eyes are on IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah to provide the right altitude and instructions so the flight that was stuck in turbulence can land smoothly.

Tahir Imran Mian is a journalist. He is also currently a consulting editor for Pakistan Aviation, an aviation news website. He tweets @TahirImran