KARACHI: Arjumand Azhar Hussain — the man who reportedly filmed the video of politicians allegedly responsible for the delay of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on September 16 — was fired from his job at Gerry's Group.

Speculation was rife on Tuesday that Hussain’s sacking was linked to the video clip he filmed that showed irate airline passengers barring Senator Rehman Malik and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Member of National Assembly Dr Ramesh Kumar Wakwani from boarding the PIA aircraft after facing what they said was a delay of two and a half hours.

Know more: Passengers offload Rehman Malik, PML-N MNA from flight over delay

Gerry's Group, which was Hussain's former employer took to their Facebook page to respond to rumours that the sacking was due to political influence, saying their decision was “purely based on merit”.

Explore: PIA suspends staff over delay in take-off

Rehman Malik and Ramesh Kumar Wakwani were accused of holding the plane back while other passengers waited for hours.

Malik denied that the delay had to do with him, and said that take-off was delayed due to a technical fault. PIA confirmed that the delay was due to a technical fault, but later said that there was a "further unnecessary delay" that resulted in action against PIA staff. Two employees of PIA were subsequently suspended.


Watch a part of the original video clip below.

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...