SC tells incumbent CEO to either retain PIA or PAF post.

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the incumbent chief executive officer can only either retain his Pakistan Air Force (PAF) post or his deputed post at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had clubbed Air Marshal Arshad Malik's plea, seeking stay against a Sindh High Court (SHC) order restraining him from working as PIA CEO, with a suo motu case pertaining to the national carrier's privatization.

On January 22, the bench had rejected Malik's appeal and questioned the appointment of four air vice marshals, two air commodores, three wing commanders and one flight lieutenant in the national carrier.

Today's hearing

During the hearing today, PIA's counsel Salman Akram Raja, said an earlier decision to sell an aircraft was taken by then CEO Bernd Hildenbrand when the court asked for details of the sale.

'The plane was used for a movie shoot in Malta before being parked at a German airport. We were paid pound 210,000 for it.'

The chief justice termed 'grave' the reports of the plane being lent to an Israel production company. He also noted that the cost of flying and parking the plane in Germany exceeded its selling price. Raja told the apex court that the PIA board was reviewing why the plane was parked at a German airport for so long.

Justice Gulzar remarked that the national carrier had grounded four planes and details of three were still missing. 'Should we allow the current management to operate in such a scenario?' he observed and added that PIA transactions only exist on paper.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) informed the bench that the PIA...