The Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Monday, declared the appointment of PIA CEO Musharraf Rasool Cyan, as null and void on grounds that he was appointed in violation of the guidelines for such appointments.
“Cyan does not meet the requirements to be appointed CEO and thus his appointment is illegal,” the SC observed.
The declaration came about in a hearing for a case pertaining to the privatization of the national carrier, which was being headed Chief Justice Saqib Nisar as part of a three-member bench.
To a question raised by Justice Ahsan on whether Cyan was interviewed by a board prior to his appointment since he had no aviation experience beforehand, Justice Nisar observed that the national carrier is running in losses, and needs a CEO who is extremely qualified and experienced.
Justice Nisar, in July, had taken a suo motu notice ordering the National Accountability Bureau to investigate the appointment of Cyan as the CEO of PIA after passengers facing a four-hour delay of a PIA Skardu-Islamabad flight staged protests.
Passengers had alleged that the airline management had traded the rights of the customers by choosing favoritism for officials of the Civil Aviation Authority by providing them with an ‘air safari’.
