ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has constituted a five-member committee, under the chairmanship of Air Vice Marshal Noor Abbas, to review fake degree cases.
According to a notification available with this scribe, the PIA management, in order to review the fake degree cases and the penalties awarded, has formed a review committee consisting of Adviser to PIA CEO AVM Noor Abbas, General Manager (Legal Services) Agha Dur Muhammad Tarique, PIA Training Centre Chief Instructor Col Zahid Hamid, GM (Flight Services) Amir Bashir, and Deputy GM (HR Services) Rizwan Ahmad Awan.
The above-mentioned committee will review, examine and recommend the administrative action (if any) on the cases referred by the PIA management.
As per a document submitted by the Aviation Division, the PIA administration had dismissed some 521 employees on the charges of fake and bogus degrees. Out of the total, some 192 went to the court in order to take a stay against the management’s orders.
The Supreme Court in May rejected the plea of the PIA employees.
Meanwhile, a Senate panel had asked the management of PIA to review the decision on fake degree cases but the incumbent CEO had rejected the idea, stating, “We will act according to the law.”
The matter of fake degrees of employees is going on for the last several years. PIA management had found that a number of PIA members, including pilots, were inducted on fake degrees.
All that needs to be done is get the degrees verified from respective Boards of Education or universities or HEC. If they are fake and bogus the employee should be sacked without any benefit for submitting false information at time of recruitment which is an offence punishable with termination in PIA Administration Manual and rules. A criminal case must be filed for forgery and perjury.