PIA flight ban: Fact-finding panel to probe ex-minister Sarwar's 'irresponsible statement'

• Ex-minister claimed qualification of 262 pilots "dubious" in 2020.
• Revelations led to over 4-year ban on PIA international flights.
• National carrier resumed European flights after EASA lifted ban.

After a shocking statement by an ex-aviation minister in 2020 resulted in years-long suspension of the national airline's flights to several countries, the federal government on Thursday formed a fact-finding committee to determine the motives behind Ghulam Sarwar's "irresponsible and speculative" statement.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the federal cabinet session in Islamabad today where members deliberated on various agenda items, including Sarwar's statement which turned out to be a disaster for the country's aviation industry.

Sarwar, during the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in 2020, had revealed that nearly a third of the licences issued to pilots were fake and was followed by another statement claiming that the qualifications of 262 pilots in the country were "dubious".

Following the startling revelations, debt-ridden Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was banned in June 2020 from flying to the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into a Karachi street, killing nearly 100 people.

After years of efforts to regain the confidence of global aviation institutions, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in November last year has lifted its ban on PIA from operating in the bloc.

Subsequently, state-owned PIA resumed its long-awaited flights to Europe earlier this month, marking a major milestone for the national carrier after more than four years of hiatus, as the first flight took off for Paris in the second week of January.

The cabinet members were told today that the former federal minister's statement was "irresponsible and speculative" which dented the country and national carrier's reputation besides bringing serious consequences to the exchequer.

The premier-led federal cabinet formed a fact-finding committee to determine the motives behind Sarwar's speculative statement.

The committee will also estimate financial losses to the PIA and exchequer following Sarwar's statement, a declaration stated.

50bn tree project, CPPs Ordinance

Meanwhile, the cabinet members also approved the Middle East Green Initiative to restore 200 million hectares of land and plantation of 50 billion trees.

Meanwhile, the cabinet also approved the Off-the-Grid Captive Power Plants Ordinance 2025, a PM Office news release said.

The federal cabinet greenlighted the agreement between the Government of Pakistan and the European Union on the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce regarding the distribution of tariff rates quota.

Additionally, the cabinet approved a 25% reduction in the provincial quota in medical and dental colleges managed by the federal government.

The initiative was taken in the context of an extremely low quota for students domiciled in the Islamabad Capital Territory in provincial medical and dental colleges so that students domiciled in Islamabad could get better opportunities for education in such institutions.

The federal cabinet, on the recommendation of the Rightsizing Committee of the federal government, has approved an amendment to the Rules of Business, 1973 regarding the merger of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and the Ministry of Frontier Affairs.

The federal cabinet has ratified the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises held on January 17, 2025.

The federal cabinet also ratified the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases held on December 17, 2024 regarding amendments to the Citizenship Act, 1952.

— With additional input from APP