Who is the Godfather in PIA?

[Good Governance Forum]

Dear All:

As announced earlier, I had planned to write a series of articles on the ailing Pakistan International Airlines, starting from today, in the US-based 'Newsvine,' a property of NBC News Digital, as I used to be its regular contributor during the years 2007-2009 side by side 'The Washington Post.'

I changed my mind today when the 'top man' assured me that what I wrote would be taken into serious consideration and appropriate actions would be initiated on fast track IF I kept my writings within the 'four walls' of the Good Governance Forum. 'Ghar ki baat ghar mein he rene dain. 'Not a bad deal, I thought, if the purpose was achieved of bringing good governance to PIA. 

The Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Aviation, Capt Shujaat Azeem, had vigorously urged me last November to share ideas on good governance with the then newly-appointed chairman Mr Nasser Jaffer and that he would arrange the meeting. He did arrange the meeting that took place in Dec 2014.

Mr Nasser Jaffer, I must say, is a thorough gentleman but somehow his hands are tied. His next-in-command, known as the Godfather in PIA, doesn't listen to him to the extent that he often doesn't respond to his boss' emails. The departmental heads of the Director/GM level including the one imported from PAF do the same thing. Everybody knows where the real power rests. Legally, the chairman is also the chief executive under the PIAC Act but who cares when the next-in-command draws his powers from 'powers that be.'

These days can truly be called 'Zawal K Din' for PIA. It appears as if PIA is on the print media's hit list, but not without cogent reasons. Almost every day, there is negative reporting on PIA. The PIA's secretly-appointed PR agency who 'got' multi-million dollar contract by a call from the neighbourhood of Islamabad is also reportedly in a fix. No credible journalist is ready to write a positive article or column on any aspect of PIA's operations. Nor are the newspapers in a mood to oblige the agency. 'Wo jo hum mein tum mein qarar tha tumein yaad ho k na yaad ho.' Print media was repeatedly bruised with false promises by the relevant departmental heads in PIA.

Wait for the next topic on PIA next Sunday, In sha Allah.

DISCLAIMER: I CAN BE WRONG. I AM HUMAN.

Mumtaz A. Piracha

Founder/Chairman

Good Governance Forum

Leading the Way to the Challenge of Change in Pakistan

Email:      good.go...@gmail.com

Website:  www.goodgovernanceforum.com

Blogsite:  http://ggovernance.blogspot.com

Good Governance Forum is the first and only interactive think tank on governance in Pakistan, founded by the public citizen Mumtaz A. Piracha in 2007. Its 11,000 network members include academia, advocates, businessmen and industrialists, civil servants, diplomats, journalists and anchors, military officials, parliamentarians, professionals. It has a network of 600 NGOs and 400 media associates. It is member of 26 media groups with overall membership of over 200,000. It has over 100 news and thematic blogs. It has presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Technorati and Google+. Its comments on key issues are published on broadbased international print media and news sites. It has goodwill ambassadors within and outside Pakistan and advisory committees on national issues. 

 

Good Governance Forum, registered as a civil society organization with the Dept of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the United Nations was the first and only think tank in Pakistan to be invited to the MDG Summit at General Assembly in New York in June 2010. 

 

Good Governance Forum encourages discussions on all aspects of governance in Pakistan but does not accept any responsibility for the views expressed by the contributors.

 

Guiding Principles and Rules can be viewed at http://ggovernance.blogspot.com/p/guiding-principles-of-good-governance.html. These are automatically applicable to contributors. 

[Good Governance Forum]

Mr Arjumand Hussain recently joined the Central Advisory Committee on National Reforms of the Good Governance Forum as the Vice Chairman - Human Rights and Social Reforms. He is now undergoing police investigation for his role in so-called disembarkation of Senator Rehman Malik (PPP) and the MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar (PMLN) from PK-370 flight owing to their late arrival causing delay in the flight's take-off. The incident took place in Sep 2014 but the PIA was presumably coerced  to file the FIR against him in April 2015--after SEVEN months of the incident.

Way back in 2008, we approached the Human Rights Watch in the US to help locate the whereabouts of Dr Aafia Siddiqi. We backed the HRW with a press release from Good Governance Forum put across the media in the US by a US-based press release distribution service. She was produced in a New York court in a month's time, although she had been untraceable for five years.

So, the fragile PIA must understand what the Good Governance Forum can possibly do for one of its own office bearers. 

Way back in 2012, when I questioned the officially-quoted cost of Metro Bus Lahore project on Facebook, I received a call from Dr Tauqir Shah, the then Principal Secretary to CM Punjab, who mustered the courage to threaten me with legal action. I told him: Shah Sahib: I would welcome such a move but do remember I have got 23 top lawyers on the forum and wouldn't have to pay a penny. Besides, when I go to court the whole media will be there from within and outside Pakistan. 

The legal action was never initiated, most probably on the orders of the CM Punjab who did, however, recall the incident in a lighter mood in our meeting in Lahore in August 2014.

Mumtaz A. Piracha

From: Arjumand Hussain <arjumand....@gmail.com>
Date: 5 May 2015 at 01:42
Subject: Re: Who is the Godfather in PIA?
To: Good Governance Forum <good.go...@gmail.com>

Dear Sir,

I have worked for PIA as General Manager of Hotel Midway House at the airport for a period of four years starting from 1989 and it was hell. The company was raped again and again because of politics and inertia.

Then PIA had about 30 aircrafts and approximately  100 General Managers. So there was a GM for Coordination, Implementation, Preparation,  Aviation, and all the shuns in the dictionary. There was even a GM Corridors who had no office so he hung around the corridors visiting different offices and actively participating in politics. He eventually rose to the position of MD PIA.

Just like the rest of Pakistan PIA can be fixed as its all about mismanagement and misappropriation.

Regards

Arjumand 

On Mon, May 4, 2015 at 5:13 PM, Good Governance Forum <good.go...@gmail.com>wrote:

From: Good Governance Forum <good.go...@gmail.com>
Date: 4 May 2015 at 17:11
Subject: Re: Who is the Godfather in PIA?
To: Javed Ashraf <jave...@gmail.com>

Javed Ashraf Sahib:

Thank you for your email which has also been forwarded to Mr Nasser Jaffer and his bosses in Islamabad.

It may astonish you to know that there is an unofficial union (or mafia) at every level of the hierarchy in PIA from the bottom to the top (excluding the chairman). 

Admr (r) Fasih Bukhari, the then chairman, NAB had issued orders in May 2013 for my appointment as consultant to prepare an overview of the PIA's operations as PIA had repeatedly dodged NAB and escaped accountability so much so that PIA didn't bother to make a formal presentation to NAB on one pretext or the other in the preceding one year at that time.

Although the study could not be conducted due to sudden removal of the chairman, NAB by SC, I got access to inside stories (stunning and mind-boggling ingenuity of the people in PIA, I must say) during the time between my nomination and the removal of NAB chairman. 

Unfortunately, the subsequent chairman, NAB and the chairman, PIA resorted to silence on my repeated emails to formalize my appointment and start working on the restructuring of PIA as a second step. I had detailed discussions with Capt Shujaat Azeem, the then Advisor to PM on Aviation and Mr Aslam Khaliq, the then Acting Chairman of PIA. Both were removed subsequently by the SC. The new chairman, NAB didn't bother to reply.

After the return of Capt Shujaat Azeem and the appointment of Mr Nasser Jaffer, we could only talk about good governance in PIA but nothing could be done practically due to reasons best known to the concerned gentlemen.

'The Man Who Knew Too Much' may be the right title for me as far as the inner working of PIA is concerned (including its CBA). That could be the raison d'être to keep me away from PIA. Wallah-o-Ilm but that can't keep me away from performing my duties. I did investigative reporting for 50 years. So, I know how to deal with crooks and crocodiles and their supporters and antagonists.

We at Good Governance Forum are planning to approach the SC for resuming hearings on the performance of PIA that was discontinued after the induction of PMLN government for reasons best known to the SC. Luckily, we have 23 top lawyers on our forum for free legal service but other expenses will have to be borne by the forum.

Will In sha Allah make unheard revelations in my upcoming write-ups tearing apart the crooks and the crocodiles who can't do anything to me without having the same thing done to them. 

Regards.

Mumtaz A. Piracha

On 4 May 2015 at 15:38, Javed Ashraf <jave...@gmail.com> wrote:

Paracha Sahib

Let me clarify that Mr Nasser Jaffar as you have also admitted is a thorough gentleman who is making sincere efforts to improve PIA but he is faced with entrenched Mafias and crooks in the shape of PALPA the pilots association and politically affiliated unions he must be given powers and support by the higher ups. Our forum must support a sincere person in his endeavors. Nawaz Sharif and Shujaat Azeem need to back him in bringing about reforms.

Gen Javed Ashraf

Sent from my iPad

On May 3, 2015, at 9:31 PM, Good Governance Forum <good.go...@gmail.com> wrote:

Javed Ashraf Sahib:

You are absolutely right. Your email has just been forwarded to Mr Nasser Jaffer as well as his bosses in Islamabad.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Kind regards.

Mumtaz A. Piracha

On 3 May 2015 at 21:20, Javed Ashraf <jave...@gmail.com> wrote:

Paracha Sahib,

If Mr Nasser Jaffar finds himself helpless because some one under him does not take orders from him and is linked to some higher authority, he should resign. If he leaves it too late like Mr Fakhar Ud din Ibrahim , the damage would have been done. 

PIA is not allowed to be privatized nor can it retrench its surplus employees because it's Union is very powerful and has political linkages. Mr Raza Rabbani and Mr Mushahidullh are well known for their linkages with unions in PIA.

Javed

Sent from my iPad