IHC restores suspended licence of pilot

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has nullified the suspension of licence of a pilot by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The plea of pilot Saqlain Akhtar against the suspension of his licence was taken up by the IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah.

Secretary CAA Hassan Nasir Jafferi appeared before the court. Justice Minhallah asked that who finalised the report of pilots having fake licences. The CAA lawyer said that out of 250 pilots having suspicious credentials, licences of 50 were canceled and 32 were suspended.

The IHC top judge said that an important regulator body is nonfunctional for the last two years and remarked that the federal government cannot give additional charge of DG CAA to the CAA secretary.

The court after hearing arguments from both sides declared the July 14 verdict regarding the suspension of licence of pilot Saqlain Akhtar as null and void.

Read more: CAA blames airlines for dubious pilots licenses issue

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had announced in June that 262 airline pilots, whose credentials may have been falsified, would be grounded at once.

Among these pilots are 141 from Pakistan International Airlines, nine from Air Blue and 10 from Serene Air, he said, adding that the remaining were affiliated with flying clubs, chartered plane services or foreign airlines.