SC orders scrutiny of educational degrees of PIA employees

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued directives to initiate scrutiny of educational degrees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees and ordered the authorities to submit a report after completing the verification process, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The top court’s two-member bench headed by the Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed also issued notices to summon Attorney General, PIA managing director and chairman of Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the next hearing.

During the hearing related to the case filed against possession of fake degrees by the PIA workers, the lawyer told the apex court that the employees have received educational degrees from a private university of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) without attending a single class. The lawyer added the employees had also received departmental promotions on the basis of such degrees.

Read: SC dismisses review petitions of PIA employees in fake degrees case

The top court’s judge remarked that [AJK’s] Al-Khair University is just an exhibitory varsity as degrees were sold out without completing educational procedures. It seems the degrees were illegally possessed [by the PIA employees], whereas, the airline has also accepted the degrees from the private university [without carrying out verification process], the judge added.

The administration of the national flag-carrier has been directed to ensure verification of educational degrees of its employees from the recognised institutions.

Later, the hearing was adjourned until one month after ordering the concerned authorities to complete scrutiny of the educational degrees of PIA employees.