SC asks Arshad Malik to choose between PAF and PIA, says he cannot hold two posts

Published February 20, 2020
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik to choose between holding his post in the Pakistan Air Force or as Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan International Airlines. — Photo courtesy PIA spokesperson/File
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik to choose between holding his post in the Pakistan Air Force or as Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan International Airlines. — Photo courtesy PIA spokesperson/File

The Supreme Court on Thursday declared Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik's appointment as head of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) "illegal", saying he could not hold two posts at the same time.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed asked Malik to choose between serving in the Pakistan Air Force or as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIA.

Earlier, on January 21, the SC had rejected Malik’s appeal against the Sindh High Court’s decision to stop him from performing any functions as CEO of the national airline until a final decision in the present case is made.

"Arshad Mehmood Malik should resign from the air force and permanently join PIA. Only one thing can be done, either work in PAF or PIA," remarked the chief justice.

The court noted that the national airline required a "permanent chairman" who can run it along professional lines and make it profitable.

The court asked Malik to submit a definite answer by the next hearing which will be in the first week of March.

When Salman Akram Raja, representing the PIA's board of governors told the court that former Air Marshal Nur Khan had also worked for the national carrier, the chief justice remarked that "they were big people and should not be compared to anyone".

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said that if the court accepted the advocate's argument, stating that if "the union employees would not let PIA function unless there was the stick of the army", then the government "should close all its offices".

The SC also rejected PIA's report about the mysterious sale of an Airbus plane owned by the national flag carrier in 2017, observing that it had only conducted a "paper investigation" into the matter.

The court directed the National Accountability Bureau to continue its investigation into how the plane was sold.

The mysterious sale of the PIA plane had caught the attention of the SC on Feb 13 when it questioned whether the sale of the aircraft — a public property — amounted to a national offence or not.

Opinion

Editorial

More desecration
Updated 27 Sep, 2023

More desecration

Attacks on the Islamic faith are not motivated by an attachment to free speech but by raw hatred.
Worrying remarks
27 Sep, 2023

Worrying remarks

THESE are ominous words from Gwadar. Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, chairman of the Gwadar Haq Do Tehreek, has warned ...
Justice or vendetta?
Updated 27 Sep, 2023

Justice or vendetta?

ONE wonders whether all pretence of the state as a democracy has been whittled down to a point where it has simply...
Free and fair?
Updated 26 Sep, 2023

Free and fair?

It is disingenuous to suggest the fairness of any polling exercise should be considered without regard to all that has preceded it.
Unto darkness
26 Sep, 2023

Unto darkness

YET another case of medical malpractice has come to light in Punjab. The eyesight of several diabetic patients has...
Unions on campus
26 Sep, 2023

Unions on campus

DEPOLITICISED youth unfamiliar with democratic norms cannot be good for the future of representative rule in...