LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Shaheen Air International (SAI) to pay compensation to passengers previously stranded in China due to suspension of its flight operation strictly in the light of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations.

Earlier, airline’s legal adviser Abraiz Ali Khan submitted a report before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar. He said a committee had been constituted to establish contact with the passengers to pay them compensation up to Rs100,000.

A deputy attorney general told the bench that the airline as per the regulations of the CAA was supposed to pay compensation much more than Rs100,000.

The chief justice also rejected the report and directed the airline to deposit Rs20 million with the Supreme Court registrar within two weeks, otherwise stern action would be taken against the airline.

Chief Justice Nisar observed that the court during the previous hearing had not used the figure of Rs100,000 as benchmark for the compensation.

He said the airline would be required to pay compensation to the passengers as per the regulations of the CAA.

The chief justice had taken a suo motu notice on reports that Pakistani citizens were stranded in China because of mismanagement of the airline.

The stranded passengers were scheduled to travel back to Pakistan on July 29 by Shaheen airline. The flight despite a delay of several days had not been arranged, reflecting serious mismanagement and negligence on the part of the airline.

Later, a special flight of the SAI flew to China with approval by the CAA and took the passengers back to Pakistan.

DONATION: A delegation of vice chancellors and principals of medical colleges and universities of Punjab on Monday called on the chief justice at Supreme Court, Lahore registry.

They presented a cheque of Rs16.943 million as donation to Supreme Court Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund. They also committed to deposit more funds in future for national cause.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2018