Retired official being appointed PIA’s chief operating officer

Published May 29, 2015
PIA’s former marketing director has been selected for the office of COO, a post that does not exist in the airline.—AFP/File
PIA’s former marketing director has been selected for the office of COO, a post that does not exist in the airline.—AFP/File

KARACHI: A retired official of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), who was accused of being involved in default of over Rs140 million but whose name was ultimately cleared, is being appointed as chief operating officer (COO) of the national carrier, sources said.

According to the sources, PIA’s former marketing director Syed Kamran Hasan has been selected for the office of COO, a post that does not exist in the airline, on contract basis.

The sources said Mr Hasan’s appointment as the airline’s COO was likely to be approved at a meeting of the PIA’s board of directors to be held in a few days.

They alleged that Mr Hasan’s likely appointment had not been mentioned in the meeting’s agenda because the authorities did not want to attract undue attention towards it. The issue would be brought up at the meeting as its last agenda item, with the permission of the chair.

PIA spokesperson Aamir Memon could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.

When contacted, Mr Hasan, who would turn 60 on June 3, said he had been approached by “people from Islamabad and Rawalpindi”.

He said he had heard that his name was being considered for a post about which he knew nothing.

He said he would like to serve the PIA “to save the national asset and protect the job of its 18,000 employees”.

When asked if the post for which he was being considered had been advertised in the media, he said the prime minister had the power to appoint anyone to any post.

According to the sources, Mr Hasan’s brother ran a cargo firm and sent goods abroad on PIA aircraft but did not pay the charges. He defaulted on Rs140m dues in 2007 when Mr Hasan held a top position in the airline.

They said that an inquiry conducted by a retired judge later declared that Mr Hasan and some junior officials were involved in the default.

However, the sources said, the PIA management sacked the junior officials and cleared Mr Hasan under “a person-to-person understanding”. He sought an early retirement in August 2012 which was granted to him with full benefits.

They said the Rs140m dues had yet to be paid to the PIA.

The sources said that Mr Hasan had sought retirement on the grounds that the PIA management had treated him shabbily during the inquiry. However within months of his retirement he started trying to land a job in the airline.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Hasan, who is currently the COO of an aviation-related private company, said he had nothing to do with his brother’s company. The default issue was related to the finance branch of the airline while he worked as its marketing director, he added.

He said that in May 2013 — about nine months after his retirement — he applied for an advertised post in PIA and was selected as adviser (commercial management) on a two-year contract.

But he did not take up the job because PIA had been taken out of the control of defence ministry and he thought that he would not be comfortable while working in the new setup.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2015

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