KARACHI: The federal cabinet has set up a committee to investigate financial losses to the national exchequer following former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s 2020 statement in Parliament about pilots with dubious licences, Dawn.com reported.

In June 2020, during a parliamentary session, Mr Khan stated that investigations had revealed more than 262 of the country’s 860 active pilots either held fake licences or had cheated in their exams.

According to a cabinet secretariat notification, the newly formed committee would “assess the financial losses incurred by the national exchequer due to the irresponsible statement” by ex-minister Khan in 2020.

The committee will also “evaluate the reputational damage caused to the co­­u­ntry and [the Pakistan In­­ternational Airlines] due to this irresponsible statement.”

The seven-member co­­m­­mittee will be chaired by Defence and Aviation Minister Kha­waja Asif as the convener. It will also comprise the minister for law and justice, the minister for fin­a­n­­ce and revenue, the secretaries of the defence ministry and ministry of law and justice, the CEO of PIA, and the director general of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The panel is expected to submit its reports to the cabinet within four weeks, according to the notification.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2025