Pakistan’s National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) has sentenced three senior officials of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to six months in prison for contempt of court after repeatedly defying judicial orders, according to an official ruling issued Thursday.
The commission also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on each official. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional one-month imprisonment.
In a detailed verdict, NIRC member Abdul Ghani Mengal found Deputy CEO Khurram Mushtaq, Chief Human Resources Officer Athar Hussain, and PIA Balochistan General Manager Sadiq Muhammad Lodhi guilty of contempt. The court declared the three ineligible for future employment or representation in any public, semi-government, or government institution.
The commission further ordered an immediate suspension of the officials’ salaries and financial privileges.
The ruling stems from a petition filed by 17 PIA employees based in Balochistan, seeking permanent employment status under Section 25 of the Balochistan Industrial Relations Act of 2010. The workers — employed as janitors and cleaners, argued they had served the airline for periods ranging from two to twenty years without being regularised.
Their plea was initially dismissed by the labour court but later upheld by the Balochistan Labour Appellate Tribunal in a March 24, 2012 ruling that ordered their regularisation. PIA challenged the decision in the Balochistan High Court and subsequently in the Supreme Court, but both appeals were dismissed.
Despite clear directions from superior courts, PIA failed to implement the ruling. The commission noted that more than seven years had passed without compliance and that the airline not only ignored the decision but also failed to respond to contempt notices.
The court observed that while some employees were eventually regularised, the process disregarded judicial instructions and omitted the payment of retrospective financial benefits.
“This contempt action is not motivated by personal vendetta but is essential to uphold public trust and the dignity of the judiciary,” the ruling stated.
The court directed relevant police stations, the Inspector Generals of Police in Balochistan and Islamabad, and jail authorities to immediately act on the arrest and incarceration of the convicted officials. It also issued a notice to the Ministry of Defence to ensure compliance with the court’s orders.
In response, PIA officials announced plans to challenge the ruling at an appropriate forum, stating that the verdict would be contested in light of the ongoing privatisation process and related administrative challenges.
