PIA Chairman Azam Saigol resigns

E-Paper | March 01, 2026

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Azam Saigol resigned from his post on Monday due to personal reasons, the national carrier's spokesman confirmed.

The development comes as PIA is under pressure and scrutiny following the crash of PK-661 and speculation that the national carrier does not follow international safety standards and procedures.

Earlier today, the PIA spokesman said in a statement that the chairman was working on a pro bono basis (without salary and perks).

The statement added that the role of the chairman is to head the board since a shift of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation to PIACL under the Companies Ordinance of 1984.

The government had appointed the noted industrialist and a member of the board of directors of Pakistan International Airlines as chairman of the national flag carrier in May 2016.

Saigol was appointed after the previous chairman, Nasser Jaffer, resigned amid the controversy resulting from the countrywide strike by the airlines’ employees over the government’s reported privatisation plans.

The Oxford educated Saigol is a well known industrialist of the country, and brought with him vast experience in handling big industrial concerns and corporations.

He had remained on PIA’s board of directors since 2013.

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Akram

Dec 12, 2016 10:53pm

Good precedent. I wish our politicians would follow this example.

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Iqbal Khan

Dec 12, 2016 10:54pm

This is the least he could have done .

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bkt

Dec 12, 2016 10:57pm

Finally. This was a much needed act, for whatever reason he gave.

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Rohail

Dec 12, 2016 10:57pm

Great! He made a great example of others especially in Pakistan which exercises in developed countries. I think he finally realized things are very bad for governance and most of the things are controlled by Nawaz Sharif. He never wanted to be a part of it.

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Parvez

Dec 12, 2016 11:00pm

A man with a sound moral compass ......... our politicians should learn from this.

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Syed Abidi

Dec 12, 2016 11:01pm

And they keep changing the water of the well without taking the dog out.

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Desi

Dec 12, 2016 11:01pm

At least someone looks to have some sense of responsibility

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Muhammad

Dec 12, 2016 11:05pm

A right tradition.We expect the same from Defence minister under whom the PIA is working,rather suffering.

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Dec 12, 2016 11:03pm

When it comes to accountability, he resigns.

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M Rafique

Dec 12, 2016 11:05pm

"personal reasons' fake term to hide one's face. Be courageous to accept responsibility and step down as head of an organisation, in the circumstances.

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Rashid

Dec 12, 2016 11:10pm

If Azam Saigol resigned because he thinks PIA was on a fault in the latest PK-661 incident, then it is the honorable acct and we should appreciate it. Hope there will be more heads to roll if there is an obvious link b/w the PIA staff negligence and this accident. We also want to make sure we don't penalized PIA if this accident was just something that was unavoidable due to some imminent reasons.

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Yesss

Dec 12, 2016 11:17pm

It's that simple....Captian of the ship has to be rolled down after any incompetency!

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Abrar

Dec 12, 2016 11:17pm

The cronyism should stop in all national institutions!

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Princess_of_DHUMP

Dec 12, 2016 11:21pm

This is sad. He was brought in to fix the company not jump the ship so early. I guess he opted for the easy way out

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Masood

Dec 12, 2016 11:19pm

...and the government would remain scot-free.

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Sheraz Ali

Dec 12, 2016 11:21pm

We know very well what's the meaning of personal reasons.

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Ed Khan

Dec 12, 2016 11:30pm

Thank you for resigning!

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M. Wasif

Dec 12, 2016 11:31pm

well known industrialist with vast experience in handling big industrial Wonder where their expertise go wen such ppl come in govt run organisations..

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M. Malik

Dec 12, 2016 11:31pm

About time some one took responsibility for the failure of PIA time and again. The entire organization needs to be revamped from top to the lowly security guards and cleaners. A bloated airline with 1000 employees per plane is unheard of! Anywhere else, the company would have filed bankruptcy, reorganized under a new brand with fresh and qualified employees to review the company.

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Tariq, Lahore

Dec 12, 2016 11:32pm

PIA should be dissolved, there's no alternative left!

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RIZ

Dec 12, 2016 11:30pm

He has to after the truth comes out at social media by his own employees. PIA should be penalized and culprits should get punished if investigation reports confirmed the allegations.

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Gabbar is back

Dec 12, 2016 11:38pm

this guy should be put in jail due to negligence in duty.

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Mahmood

Dec 12, 2016 11:40pm

I would like to nominate a UK and US-educated Mr. Ehsan A. Malik - former CEO of Unilever Pakistan as the new Chairman of PIA. During his tenor at Unilver Pakistan, Mr. Malik led the rapid expansion of the company, with increased product lines, market share, profitability with focus on employee and customer satisfaction all around. He is a dedicated and no-nonsense Executive, who can turn things around at PIA if given unfettered powers, with political influence, to do what is necessary to bring the former glory back to the national carrier. His management skills - gained after several years in the corporate sector as well as his financial management acumen - especially his ACA credentials are par none. In addition, his strategic planning and organizational development know-how backed by Harvard Univ. training is what is needed at this critical juncture at PIA.

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Not Again

Dec 12, 2016 11:41pm

He should also be fired as director of PIA. The corporation needs new leadership which will take safely absolutely top priority.

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FAROOOQ

Dec 12, 2016 11:44pm

Mr. Saigol was my senior in Lahore Oxford High School:the whole school body was in awe of his managerial skills from an early stage. He has been made a scape goat. It was the plane's fault that it didn't fly with one engine also, the plane was meant to glide and its the fault of the hill which obstructed the gliding plane. Clearly this nation does not deserve a talented individual.

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Blister

Dec 12, 2016 11:47pm

Such is the state in Pakistan that it's difficult to know whether this is a responsible man giving up or rats running off the sinking ship.....

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Dec 12, 2016 11:48pm

No one can manage PIA with their hands and legs tied behind their back by the government. Any one who accepts this position must be given complete freedom and full support with authority to terminate employment of thousands of PIA workers who are neither qualified nor are needed. PIA union should be disbanded so that PIA can regain its health as a functioning entity. Wasting Public funds on PIA irresponsibly is a violation of Public trust by the government and the Parliament who have failed to protect public's interest

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Changez khan

Dec 12, 2016 11:48pm

This is too easy for this guy, he MUST be prosecuted and held responsible of all the deaths. PROSECUTE Azam Saigol.

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ashar

Dec 12, 2016 11:50pm

Right decision

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Iqbal Khan

Dec 12, 2016 11:50pm

His vast experience in running large industries didn't reflect in his working with PIA .

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IMF

Dec 12, 2016 11:51pm

Good for him. He need not do unproductive work.

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Alba

Dec 12, 2016 11:53pm

That's what they all say, "personal reasons". He was pushed out for mismanagement.

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Faisal Naqvi

Dec 12, 2016 11:56pm

Right decision. Folks don't fly with PIA till they reach to the international safety standards. Boycott.

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Mohammed Sattar

Dec 13, 2016 12:04am

Must be the first time somebody is actually taking responsibility for their organisations failure in Pakistan.

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syedchaudhrugangadinkhan

Dec 13, 2016 12:05am

What has Oxford education got to do with managing a company? There are many Pakistanis with Oxford education who don't know a damn thing.

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HopeFull

Dec 13, 2016 12:07am

At least this guy has acted upon his conscience !

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Merchant

Dec 13, 2016 12:09am

Decent thing to do, appreciated. Our rulers must learn a lesson and learn to take responsibility of their deeds.

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Sukhera

Dec 13, 2016 12:09am

We need to privatise PIA and let the private company run it. Hopefully his resination will bring fresh blood to move the company forward.

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Make Pakistan great

Dec 13, 2016 12:13am

The so called noted industrialists/successful businessmen fail miserably when given the reins of large public sector organizations. A look at the composition of Boards of various public sector organizations would show that they boast of many so called renowned businessmen, besides bureaucrats. Abject failure of business tycoons while running public sector units exposes the real truth about their much touted entrepreneurial skills in managing own enterprises. The successes there could be the result of tax evasion, under/over invoicing in exports/imports, collusion with government officials to violate rules, high handedness in dealing with employees etc.-things not possible in public sector organizations. They may also get involved in the endemic loot and plunder in public sector units in league with the unscrupulous elements and corrupt unions. So much for their managerial capabilities. The bureaucrats on Boards may simply be interested in TAs/DAs and Board meetings attendance fees.

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Rashid asad

Dec 13, 2016 12:14am

Reasonable person with a reasonable decision......

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kamal pasha

Dec 13, 2016 12:17am

I was also told to resign from my pervious job due to bad performance but was cited as personal reasons to avoid black mark on my career.

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jee jee

Dec 13, 2016 12:18am

If Saigol resigned due to the airplane crash saga then he must be brave enough to accept the responsibility and resign accordingly rather than going on personal grounds.

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Ahmad

Dec 13, 2016 12:20am

Respect !

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Asif

Dec 13, 2016 12:19am

Who cares. Got job because of connections.

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saeeds

Dec 13, 2016 12:19am

Political appointees keep on working so does his resignation make any difference. In fact he is million time qualified person for his job compare to any political and union workers at there given jobs.

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SAT GOEL

Dec 13, 2016 12:24am

This does not solve the problem of PIA.

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Ilias from NL

Dec 13, 2016 12:30am

Thank you very much, we need some one more responsible chair person to look after PIA pro actively and professionally. Safety of human life is a concerning point first for all.

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Umar

Dec 13, 2016 12:34am

What about the politicians who had the finger on the trigger in decision making they are equally to blame

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waheed

Dec 13, 2016 12:41am

Good riddance

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hasnain

Dec 13, 2016 12:40am

Why not on the reason of plane crash? You can restore some dignity !

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Hammad

Dec 13, 2016 12:43am

Good. We don't need incompetent so called big industrialists

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A Aziz

Dec 13, 2016 01:01am

People of Pakistan would like to see PIA rise to its former glory. PIA helped start airlines like Emirates. This 1.47 minute video again reminds us what we are. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yJUs0SaEEFM Come on PIA, remember what you are capable of. Help make this nation proud and great once again.

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Jay

Dec 13, 2016 01:14am

Very good decision. Responsibility starts from the top. A lesson of other government agencies as well as PM. himself.

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Adnan

Dec 13, 2016 01:25am

INFESTED with Nepotism. the rich for the rich. Welcome to Pakistan

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UFO

Dec 13, 2016 01:29am

Few heads must roll, I say.

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mir kareem jan

Dec 13, 2016 01:42am

Not at this stage sir, we need you at this time.

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Farzana khan

Dec 13, 2016 01:41am

No one works pro bono in today's Pakistan.

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Anis Motiwala

Dec 13, 2016 01:51am

He should be tried. Resignation is not sufficient.

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Ahsan Gul

Dec 13, 2016 01:53am

He saved his skin after this horrible mishap. Doesn't matter where he is educated or what type of experience he has the important part is that he has to deal with the current government and PM. Educated people cannot deal with our incompetent leaders and politicians and this is the truth.

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Al Fatmi

Dec 13, 2016 01:56am

Good decision, now he should come out clean and tell the nation the truth about the state of affairs in one of the most corrupt and politicized government owned entity.

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Zulfeqar - Canada.

Dec 13, 2016 02:01am

A good news.

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pakistani

Dec 13, 2016 02:14am

very good. now criminal proveedings should be started ummediatelt against saigol and other PIA board members.....

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Jogi

Dec 13, 2016 02:15am

Please bring some ex Air force official as chairman rather tham PML N stooges.....PIA gained a lot during Noor khan and Asghar khan era

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shah

Dec 13, 2016 02:25am

what miracles could this guy have performed in six months ?

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Faraz-Canada

Dec 13, 2016 02:27am

Good example set by him. At least he felt responsible even though he said it was for personal reasons.

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Raja H

Dec 13, 2016 02:28am

Running from what exactly is the key question.

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Imran

Dec 13, 2016 02:37am

Thank you Sir.

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Ganges khan

Dec 13, 2016 02:51am

all bunch of thieves,they steel along with politicians,needs to be in jail.

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Moth

Dec 13, 2016 02:53am

Well known industrialist and Oxford educated. And he resigned. Such a big loss to our country.

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Dec 13, 2016 02:59am

The Right thing to do. Only if the Sharif brothers could do the same.

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Aslam M

Dec 13, 2016 03:15am

Still personal reasons!!!

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NeutraView

Dec 13, 2016 03:34am

Why doesn't the Managing Director resign??? He is the one getting a fat salary. But such guys have little self respect.

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Arslan

Dec 13, 2016 03:39am

A good precedent. If you are the head of an institution and a tragedy occurs on your watch, it is your moral duty to resign and let someone else take over.

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Jawad

Dec 13, 2016 03:52am

Good and sell PIA to foreign country

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Murtaza

Dec 13, 2016 03:58am

Time to put him on ECL

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Harris

Dec 13, 2016 04:27am

Good decision Mr. Chairman. While the resignation is touted as one for personal reasons, the timing is great. Accountability must start at the top.

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Junaid

Dec 13, 2016 04:42am

Good riddance. Let's see which puppet the government chooses now.

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taha

Dec 13, 2016 04:47am

smart man knows when to exit.

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Philosopher (from Japan)

Dec 13, 2016 04:50am

Better late than never.

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Arshad, Canada

Dec 13, 2016 05:10am

" due to personal reasons" Is this a reason after so many failers in just one week? Had he resign a few days earlier and said that I am resigning due to the crash and ultimately as a Chairman , I am responsible. Had he done that, people would have respected him and admired his courage. But no, why do that since everyone is so perfect. Now we are told he was working for free so for free this is what you get. For Got sake get a highly paid professional who can do the job.

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Malik

Dec 13, 2016 05:13am

Can someone be found outside Pakistan to run PIA, the way it should be run with someone having lots of airline experience. There is nothing to be ashamed of such induction. After all, we have foreign coaches both in hockey, cricket and football. Pro bono and having no salary, alone are not enough. Someone we pay and who can blindly fix this almost bankrupt organization--both in human and physical assets. Let us try this avenue--someone who is from outside, above the local bonds of servitude, family and tribal leanings.

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Iqbal

Dec 13, 2016 05:34am

We Pakistanis don't know a good thing if it hits us in the face. Azam Saigol was sincere, honest and qualified, but between the politics and the media, he never had a chance. PIA needs serious reforms requiring political will. We need to see the big picture. Loss of worthless jobs in PIA now would save the airline and create future jobs in a successful airline. That is what Azam had set out to do, and finally realized it is impossible to fight too many battles. Everyone from our politicians, the media,PIA employees, and we the citizens are to blame for this loss. We reap what we sow.

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asad

Dec 13, 2016 05:39am

This is what a pure blood and honorable man would do. Lineage matters.

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Amin

Dec 13, 2016 05:48am

Good riddance

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sufian

Dec 13, 2016 05:57am

(PIA) Chairman Azam Saigol resigned from his post on Monday due to personal reasons. Is this a joke? Why is he running away from his duty? We need answers and personally speaking, I would like to see some people behind bars. The recent tragedy was due to negligence. I would not travel with PIA not any time soon anyways. Until these culprits who hold high positions that make the calls are held accountable I am afraid nothing will change.

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ahmad

Dec 13, 2016 06:04am

and due to his experience and nawaz experience we lost another billions of rupees in loses only in PIA and lost precious 45 lives as well along with plane.

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Hopeful

Dec 13, 2016 06:16am

Thank got he is gone. However, this is not going to solve the problem. We need to get rid of all the sifarshis in PIA. This airline can be made better but not with so many people who want to eat PIA up.

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MSAlvi

Dec 13, 2016 06:26am

That's what happens with civilized people. The crash happened under his rule, and he resigned. Nawaz will go only when he is pushed out by a powerful force.

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nadeem

Dec 13, 2016 06:50am

One less problem!!!

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Nadeem

Dec 13, 2016 06:53am

OK it's a good first step. But do we really know what ails the PIA?

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Ahmad Zubair

Dec 13, 2016 06:58am

Tendering resignation,an easy way to escape from ailing responsibilities

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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Dec 13, 2016 07:17am

Good, right and sensible decision.

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T.M.Wazir

Dec 13, 2016 07:22am

I think Mr. Saigon got scared very quickly from PIA fleet.

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M. Emad

Dec 13, 2016 07:36am

Azam Saigol is a total failure as PIA Chairman.

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easy escape

Dec 13, 2016 07:59am

very clever and easy escape !

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white noise

Dec 13, 2016 08:01am

people with honor do just like this, unlike our politicians

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Ayub

Dec 13, 2016 08:03am

Good decision.

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Sukhera

Dec 13, 2016 08:08am

I don't think Mr. Saigol is resigning at this juncture for personal reasons. I believe he tried to turn around the airline but failed because of a strong labor union tactics with political affiliation. He really believed that the only way out of the current mess for PIA is to privatize the airline and save millions of dollars it is losing annually. He tried to cut the overhead but Union would not budge or give an inch against privatization.Under these circumstances, PIA was incurring huge losses and there was no way out but to resign. This was a respectable thing to do which we don't see very often in Pakistan.I also think the ATR crash which killed 48 people really affected him personally and as head of the PIA, he somehow felt responsible for the tragic incident.I feel the govt made him the Chairman of the airline without providing him any space to maneuver or authority to cut down the unnecessary employees which is at least three time more per plane as compared to other airlines.

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salman ali

Dec 13, 2016 08:18am

@Make Pakistan great You have raised a very valid point. This is well illustrated by companies listed on Stock Exchange. Of the 700+ companies, very few are worth investing based on their operating performance. And these investibles are either banks, Multinationals or dependent on guaranteed returns/subsidy etc. Very few genuine locally owned businesses. Personally, used to monitor companies controlled by Naseem/Azam Saigol in 1990s. Most foreign investors had bitter experience in them. They eventually had to sell Union Bank.

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Tariq Ishtiaq

Dec 13, 2016 08:27am

He should have resigned on the day of the crash. Better late than never. Good precedent. Why hang on to a job when you can't deliver!

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Ahsan Gul

Dec 13, 2016 08:31am

Intelligent and honest people cannot work with corrupt and incompetent leaders politicians like our PM. Nawaz has the upper hand that is why Saigol could not turn around PIA economic conditions.

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JKhan

Dec 13, 2016 08:56am

But this should not absolve him of the responsibility for Havelian crash. He must be investigated.

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Masood Hussain

Dec 13, 2016 09:24am

Personal reasons??? seriously????

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Vaqas

Dec 13, 2016 09:34am

With all his experience he didn't do much good if they had to ground a fleet after the fact, rather than averting it by keeping strict protocols of safety alive.

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ayaz abbasi

Dec 13, 2016 09:33am

It seems he did tender resignation but taken forcibly. It is top bureaucratic trick to make calm the tempo of the masses and tackle these blunders by this way.

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jamal

Dec 13, 2016 09:36am

that happens when people getting seats because of nepotism.

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Malik

Dec 13, 2016 09:39am

Good decision. Some ownership to the incidents. Good omen, PIA and Pak in general need such things in every dept of country...duty of care should be considered in all public n private organisations equally and in Govt

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Khan USA

Dec 13, 2016 09:51am

What about the German MD ? When he will be leaving for Berlin ?

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MAAHA DHANANI

Dec 13, 2016 10:01am

Thought a sound decision but I feel sad for Mr. Saigol. A leading industrialist who is well qualified and having sound experience in his field but running a political mess is not an easy job and that too with just the will and wishes of government. PIA needs a strong leadership, time, resources and an above all the commitment of the Nation to bring it glory back. I have been a CEO of an organisation and it is unfair to expect just one person to turn around the huge mess accumulated over these years in an extremely difficult circumstances in a brief period. This is not a 20 twenty match but rather a marathon requires patience and stamina Let's get out of the false hope that the new Chairman will give solution to all outstanding issues.

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Proud Pakistani

Dec 13, 2016 10:31am

Apart from other causes one of the major cause was the pilot was busy in most of the time in making and uploading videos - 'Amazing Pakistan' on U-tube, where as flying in northern area is not a piece of cake. We should all realize our duties.

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Love Your Country

Dec 13, 2016 10:32am

@Mahmood - I don't mind. But, respectfully speaking, PIA and Unilever are two totally different beasts - Unilever has its international management structure and systems behind it whereas PIA is nothing short of a government run entity plagued by appointments of Karachi's biggest mafia organisations that are on the payroll of political parties for the last 40 years.

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Love Your Country

Dec 13, 2016 10:39am

@Sukhera - Thanks, one of the very few sensible comments. Lot of ppl venting their anger here without knowing anything about the role and responsibilities within a corporate entity of this size. At least give him credit for the courage he has shown.

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Asif A. Shah

Dec 13, 2016 10:41am

Mr. Azam Saigol should have said that he shares the blame in the PK 661 air crash and then should have resigned. In India, once Lal Bahdar Shastri was a Minister for Railways( he later became the Prime Minister of India) and there was a train accident during his tenure. He shared the blame for that accident and resigned. That is what you call establishing a good precedent. I wish Azam Saigol should have demonstrated moral courage of accepting responsibility.

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imran ali

Dec 13, 2016 10:47am

What has OXFORD got to do with competence ! It does not mean going to OXFORD entitled your run businesses and people should expect this person will be champion in Business. Pakistani's need to get this mentality out of their system.

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My 2 cents

Dec 13, 2016 10:50am

Thanks goddness - someone has shown the courage and honour in this land..... He must be held accountable for his deeds though...

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Kakar khan

Dec 13, 2016 10:55am

PIA was one of the leading airlines under the the guidence of Nur Khan. Now its the worst. Government is in no mood to do any thing about it. One can only hope that this airline already in nose dive would recover one day.

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Dec 13, 2016 10:55am

There is still someone in country who still listens to voice of eternal conscience. I pray may some good company in world hire this wonderful person to run their airlines before somebody else hires him. A place of precious diamond should be in platinum or gold and not in silver or bronze.

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Ghulam

Dec 13, 2016 11:03am

The CEO should have resigned before the Chairman. The CEO and relevant persons approved the plane to fly should all resign or fired as they are responsible for day to day activities of the business.

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imran ali

Dec 13, 2016 11:06am

@Love Your Country - Some Commonsense !

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The end is near

Dec 13, 2016 11:10am

PIA must be sued for criminal negligence which caused the death of innocent passengers. One resignation is not enough.

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Rkhan

Dec 13, 2016 11:12am

'The Oxford educated Saigol is a well known industrialist of the country, and brought with him vast experience in handling big industrial concerns and corporations' .....so what PIA people are very hard nut to crack. No one will be able to control them due their affiliation of political backing.

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Imtiaz

Dec 13, 2016 11:14am

Sell it off as the state has failed miserably to protect the people's asset.

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Matt

Dec 13, 2016 11:11am

@Mahmood PIA needs a professional with world class aviation experience!

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Tariq Awan

Dec 13, 2016 11:18am

This is not enough! Somebody should be held accountable for the crash and resultant punishment! Otherwise, this resignation is simply an eye wash!

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M. Malik

Dec 13, 2016 12:47pm

@Matt - A company's Chairman of the Board (or 'bored', as you see fit), is largely a ceremonial post. Whereas the CEO and COO are the two people primarily responsible for operating the company, developing strategies and implementing the business model. That role of CEO at PIA is currently in the hands of Bernd Hillenbrand, formerly and executive with Lufthansa. If he could not turn things around at PIA, than I fear all is lost and no one in Pakistan will be able to deliver the result and revive PIA into an efficient, lean, profitable and reputable airline it once was. I am sure Mr. Hillenbrand has put forth proposal how things could be changed at PIA and stop the bleeding. But political interference, unions, and factions within the company are preventing him from introducing reforms that are sorely needed. The powers may have overruled him, thereby guaranteeing his failure to fire thousands of useless PIA employees and improve service. Sad, but that may be the bitter truth.

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Vikas

Dec 13, 2016 01:26pm

@Malik So sad an affair. I keep reading how once upon a time PIA help set up Emirates. How a Pakistani was a CEO of Pan Am. Now hey shall have to import a head for once such an eloquent Airlines. Full Circle.

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Intizar

Dec 13, 2016 01:39pm

@Mahmood. Managing a private corporation such as Unilever is different from a public one such as PIA. In Unilever you can keep the organization trim and efficient, and can discipline and fire workers. In PIA you face an inefficient, bloated workforce, which has been stuffed with political appointees, and are unable to do anything about it.

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ISHTIaQ

Dec 13, 2016 01:51pm

@Make Pakistan great. The reason any executive from a private company will fail to turn around PIA is simply that in the latter he will be faced with unproductive, bloated workforce about which he will not be able to anything, because of vested interests, political pressure, and threats of strikes.

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Mahmood

Dec 13, 2016 02:02pm

@Intizar Everyone like you, thinks a Chairman is responsible for turning things around at an ailing organization. Which is not the case. He is a ceremonial head of the organization, not the policy maker, operator or overseas the management. That role is filled by CEO and COO or in collusion. I did not suggest Mr. Ehsan Malik to be the CEO. but rather replace the outgoing Mr. Saigol as Chairman of PIA. The current CEO of PIA is highly experienced and very capable former Lufthansa executive, Mr. Hillebrand. If he is allowed freedom do what is necessary he can revive PIA. But the head of PIA should be a Pakistani with experience, knowledge and expertise to guide management committees to help the CEO deliver the desired results. A seasoned hand like Mr. Malik has a proven track record with an international organization, and is highly acclaimed in the business community at home and abroad.

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M. Malik

Dec 13, 2016 02:17pm

@Intizar - What do you know about running a multi-national organization, public or private? Do you have decades of experience in any of these international concerns - at home or abroad? Given the political influences at PIA, a neutral business executive with experience heading a large organization in Paksitan is what is needed. He should be able to stave off any political pressures, with clear mandate and without interference from the government or any political groups. He should assist the CEO to trim the fixed cost immediately to stop the billions in losses, reduce debt, restructure the organization, improve service, expand network with new fleet of jets and change the image of PIA. A Pakistani executive with skills, knowledge and guts to do just that is is what is needed right now. Mr. Ehsan Malik happens to be a cousin of mine, but I support his nomination, purely based on his business track record and abilities to deliver results.

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Sehrish Noureen

Dec 13, 2016 02:45pm

As far as operations are concerned, this is the responsibility of CEO and he must be the one to come forward and hold himself accountable. This resign is juts a face off tact. He must have accepted the onus before offering his resign instead of putting it in the basket of "personal reasons".

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Abrar

Dec 13, 2016 03:01pm

At least there is someone honorable who considered it worth resigning from his post.

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Love Your Country

Dec 13, 2016 03:29pm

@Mahmood - The chairman and the CEO (or chairmen and CEOs) will NOT be able to deliver anything if they are not left alone to make the right decisions purely on merit. For this to happen (as it happens in the case of Unilever and other big and small commercial entities) they need free space to tackle the basic issues without interference and they need support. What I fear here is a media trial of this sad incident as a lot of ppl are already jumping to conclusions here. What if it was nobody's fault (planes do drop off the sky with even no trace at all)? We need to be patient and wait for the initial inquiry report.

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Mahmood

Dec 13, 2016 03:45pm

@Love Your Country - Exactly what I said, if the new CEO and Chairman are allowed the 'freedom to do what is necessary, without political influences or interference from government, or favors to anyone - except the traveling public, the customer and the taxpayers who are bankrolling the ailing PIA so far. I feel the first thing the existing CEO should have been allowed to do was to get rid of thousands of political appointees, useless burden on the payroll, older planes and mindset. But I guess he has been hampered by government meddling and blackmails. I am actually shocked that Mr. Hillerbrand has not been able to trim to work force so far - which is the biggest financial strain on PIA and because of their political influences, impacts the performance of the entire organization.

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Ajazz Uddin

Dec 13, 2016 03:48pm

@M. Malik Qualified employees! Where to get from ? Ajaz

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Guest67

Dec 13, 2016 05:07pm

If he resigned (due to the real reasons that surround around the recent crash on Chitral flight ) then his act is a courageous one to be applauded in a country where Minister refuses to go ( a train crash ) and argues he was not the driver of the crashed train ! , someone is taking a responsibility of an incident on his shoulders and leaving the job ! , though reported that he has done so on personal reasons . Truth must be told , why a person who was costing Nothing to the institution ( no salary and perks , as reported in this blog !) and if he was a competent person to hold the job , THEN WHY HE LEFT ?????

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Ahsan Gul

Dec 13, 2016 06:31pm

Our country is at cross roads. No government institution working properly, no politician public can trust to include PM and his friends. Jobs are held by incompetent people. Don't know how far we still can go before public will come out on roads.

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Jay

Dec 13, 2016 08:37pm

@Make Pakistan great: Your point is well taken but you never presented any solution. The country has no systematic way of grooming good CEOs from bottom up. Most of the Pakistani CEOs are self assigned. The only organization that grooms its top management from bottom up is Military. The last best Genral Manager of PIA was Air Marshal Noor Khan.

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javed qamer USA

Dec 13, 2016 10:48pm

good riddance

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Shabana

Dec 14, 2016 03:02am

Just wanted to say when it's time to clear up the mess that PIA have made it s time for people to step down!! What a shame!! Don't you think pia just need to close down or even sell them selfs!! At one point Pia staff were showing Emairates how it was done! Look at the facility Emirates offer passangers compared to PIA. If the plain had enigne failer it should have not be in service in the first instance.

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Shabana

Dec 14, 2016 03:06am

PIA should sell them selves to a company who can actually run!! It's time to sell up!

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Khurshid Sayyed

Dec 14, 2016 03:54am

Qualifications,experience and management skills work side by side.The best safety device is a careful man.In this case it should be the team.The result of the investigations should be publicized with stern action against who so ever they may be.A full fledged SAFETY DEPARTMENT should be created to throughly counter check the roundtrip and annual maintenance schedules of the airplanes from time to time.Availability of spares for all airplane models has to be ensured.The Senior Management Level has to ensure 1.The safe operation/flyover of the plane.2.The schedule departure/arrival timings and 3.The amenities to the passengers.

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ABC

Dec 14, 2016 04:41am

"Personal reasons" says it all. There were no personal reasons before the crash investigation. It was easy money.

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Sukhera

Dec 14, 2016 06:17pm

@Shabana. The problem is not with the Chairman or the management of PIA. Mr. Saigol worked for PIA on pro bono basis which means no pay or perks. He was drafted when the former chairman was ousted because he started the process of privatization and all the union workers/ employees went strike and demanded his resignation. The government announced /promised that PIA will not be privatised to lure the employees to call off the strike. The goverment under MuzhR

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Sukhera

Dec 14, 2016 10:31pm

@ABC,Shabana,.Continued. President Musharraf forced the PIA to adopt the open sky policy which means any foreign airline can fly to any city in Pakistan. Emirates airlines flies to six cities in Pakistan, Qatar airways 6 cities, Etihad 5 cities and Turkish airlines 3 cities. Pakistan has a population of 200M but PIA only flies to one city in these countries. There are certain domestic routes where PIA been has been losing money for decades because the Govt does not allow them to discontinue. We started the open sky policy because of government's meddling in PIA affairs. PIA hired thousands of new employees because it was forced to hire starting from PPP government to the current govt. PIA could not compete with these airlines which had wide body new planes and the fare was lower than PIA. We should not criticize PIA for mismanagement because our government makes all the important decisions which are mostly political and is responsible for its downfall.Privatization is the answer.

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