PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) CEO Arshad Malik has been prevented from performing his duties by the Sindh High Court until he appears before the bench on January 22, local media have reported.
Malik was appointed the carrier's chief executive on April 2, 2019, and was before that its chairman from October 11, 2018, as appointed by the federal government. Until then, he had served in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for more than 40 years, reaching the rank of Air Marshal and the PAF's deputy chief of staff.
However, a petition challenging his position as head of the nation's flag carrier was filed at the court - the highest judicial institution in Karachi and the province of Sindh - on December 31 by Safdar Anjum, general secretary of the airline’s Senior Staff Association (SASA).
Malik does not fulfil the educational requirements of the post and he lacks any relevant experience for the job, the petition claimed, citing his basic BSc degree and a number of qualifications in war studies.
Anjum said he was filing the petition in the public interest and to enforce the fundamental rights of SASA's members and the general public, as PIA is a national asset.
The two-member bench subsequently issued a directive preventing the chief executive from performing his functions while also stopping the airline from hiring, firing or transferring employees. In addition, it has temporarily prevented PIA from buying or selling assets worth over PKR10 million rupees (USD64,500).
