Sindh High court on Monday ordered Pakistan International Airlines not to remove 2 pilots Yahya Mussawar Sandila and Waseem Akhter from service. The court order stated that the court “summons and notice to the defendants by all modes except publication for 30.07.2020. In the meantime Defendant, No.4 / PIA will not remove the plaintiff from service”. The court also restrained the defendants “from communicating their impugned decision (cancellation of licenses) of 14.07.2020 in media, which may be defamatory of the plaintiff and prejudice the present proceeding”.
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The court was hearing the case number 818 of 2020 presented by advocate Muhammad Haseeb Jamali, Saad Siddiqui, and Zoarain Khan Nizamani on behalf of pilots Waseem Akhter and Yahya Mussawar Sandila. The plaintiff requested the court with the help of various documents that Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has illegally canceled their pilot licenses against the order of the court dated 14.07.2020.
The plaintiff also contended that already Suit No.330 / 2019 is sub judice, in which this Court has already given directions to defendants to complete the investigation within parameters of relevant rules and procedure. The lawyers for both pilots informed the court that “in terms of Civil Aviation Authority Rules 1994 and particularly Rule 342, a complete procedure is given for suspension or cancellation of license, including holding of investigation, which has never been done or completed”.
The lawyers also alleged that “all this has been done with a predetermined mind” therefore they requested that “PIA will take detrimental action against the plaintiff by removing him from service”. So they requested the court that since both pilots have “given valuable years of his life in serving” PIA and they don’t want to be “relieved of duty with a stigma , unless it is proven in accordance with law and rules by following due process”.
Both pilots along with few others have been fighting these cases from past many months and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has been dragging its feet in the cases by not appearing before the court or requesting adjournments. The court will not hear this case on 30 of July 2020. There are two groups of pilots who are fighting for their licenses in court.