ISLAMABAD: A candidate who had applied for the post of director general of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) filed a petition before Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the process of induction adopted by the authority.

The petitioner Imran Aslam was among 18 short-listed candidates who were interviewed but the authority later halted the process and started it all over again.

The post was advertised on July 4 and 5 in national daily newspapers. The last date of submission for applications was July 20, 2020, and 599 applications were received by the authority.

The post of CAA director general was previously advertised on March 13, 2018, but the appointment process was challenged by an employee from the authority in Lahore High Court; the case was decided in July 2019.

Later, the post was advertised again on Nov 20, 2019, and the process was challenged once more.

According to the petitioner, the government wanted “to hire a blue-eyed” for this lucrative position, therefore, the process has been scrapped and the well-connected secretary aviation division managed to obtain approval from the cabinet division to start the recruitment process afresh.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah will take up the petition today.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2020