ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Tariq Kirmani was paid over Rs1.2 million by the airline as a reward for his outstanding performance during the period he was not associated with the national flag carrier.

In a written reply to a question by Senator Liaquat Bangulzai, Federal Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal stated: “Tariq Kirmani was given four basic salaries by PIA for his outstanding performance during 2003-04.”

The chairman is getting a basic pay of Rs322,000 per month. The amount paid in reward thus sums up to Rs1,288,000. Mr Kirmani took over as the PIA chairman on April 19, 2005.

The Board of Management of the airline determines the reward which is based on performance and varies between 0-4 basic salaries per annum.

Interestingly, in reply to another question, the Senate was informed by the defence minister that the airline suffered a loss (after tax) of Rs1,023 million during July and September 2005. During the same period in 2004 prior to the change in management, PIA had suffered a loss of Rs386 million.

PIA Spokesman Captain Hassan Jafferi, when contacted for comments, said he was not sure about the situation and could not clarify it as the chairman was on a foreign trip.

Mr Kirmani, according to the defence minister’s reply to another question, had so far made 10 overseas visits and had spent about 42 days on these visits during his eight and half months in office. He had visited Dubai, Beijing, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Washington, Bahrain, Doha, Nairobi and Copenhagen.

There is no mention of how much these trips cost the financially ailing carrier, though Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed had specifically inquired about the amount spent on foreign trips.

The minister stated that the chairman was paid $4,150 as TA/DA during these visits.

Meanwhile, the statistics placed before Senate about PIA operations during November revealed that out of a total of 4,000 flights operated, 61 flights were cancelled and 514 delayed. Punctuality was 85.6 per cent, while regularity was 98.5 per cent.